


The Road Not Taken

by bansheequeen (queenbanshee), xtremeroswellian



Category: Smallville
Genre: AU, Anger, Angst, Basically a rewrite of season 8, Birthdays, Brainiac possession, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Mindwipe, Oliver and Clark don't really get along very well, Slow Burn, Time Travel, Watchtower - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:13:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 19
Words: 65,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24084892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenbanshee/pseuds/bansheequeen, https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian
Summary: Season 8, rewritten to be more Chlollie-fied.
Relationships: Chloe Sullivan & Clark Kent, Chloe Sullivan/Oliver Queen, Davis Bloome/Chloe Sullivan, James "Jimmy" Olsen/Chloe Sullivan, Tess Mercer/Oliver Queen
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

**Black Creek, Montana --**

His heart was pounding heavily as he made his way up the concrete steps, crossbow held tightly in one hand. He knew AC and Bart had already infiltrated the facility, that they were working on taking down the guards. She was here somewhere. She had to be. Because she wasn't in DOD custody, that was for certain. His lawyers had been deployed the same day she'd been taken from the Talon, and they'd come up empty-handed.

And they weren't lawyers who came up empty-handed unless there was really nothing to be found or done.

Which meant that Lex had her. Why he would have taken Chloe Sullivan was beyond him, unless it was a ploy to get to Clark. And maybe, he thought, that was exactly what the plan was. Except it hadn't worked. Clark had seemingly vanished right off the planet at the same time that Chloe had been taken. Which left him and the team to find Chloe and bring her home safely.

Chloe had just managed to break out and make a run for it, her heart was beating fast against her chest as she ran through the corridors of the facility, her eyes wide as she rushed right to the end of a corridor, only stopping herself from falling down to the floor beneath it by a railing. She took a deep breath, then stilled when she saw the familiar uniform right beneath her, "Oliver," she gasped, not even blinking as she looked around, finding the stairs and immediately running to it.

His chest tightened slightly when he caught sight of her, meeting her halfway up the stairs and wrapping one arm around her. "You're a sight for sore eyes," he informed her, his voice distorted.

"It's a trap," she whispered to him, her eyes widening even more, and she barely returned the hug before taking his hand and rushing with him toward the bottom of the stairs, "we need to get out of here. Now."

Caught off guard by her words, he followed without hesitation, pressing the comm device in his ear. "Impulse, Aquaman, get out _now_ ," he ordered, lifting his crossbow when two guards moved toward the stairs and right for them. He quickly fired two sedative darts into their necks.

Chloe glanced over her shoulder to make sure Oliver was still with her but didn't stop running, her lungs were burning, the muscles in her legs were screaming, but the adrenaline kept her going as they rushed through the facility, not pausing until the corridor she'd taken split into two, she could hear footsteps behind them, but couldn't see anyone when she looked over her shoulder again, "which way?" She whispered urgently, breathlessly.

"This way," he answered, tugging her down another corridor toward the final set of steps. In a few seconds, they would be free.

She kept on running with him, she could see the door now and her heart was beating even faster against her chest, they were so close, but then she felt a strong wind just above her ear, only then registering that the guards with guns were finally catching up with them, the bullets speeding over their heads even as they ducked.

"Go," he ordered, grabbing her and pushing her in front of him, toward the exit, barely flinching as a bullet grazed his arm. His heart hammered in his ears and all he could think was he'd spent weeks doing nothing but trying to locate where they'd taken her, and he wasn't about to lose her now when they were this close to freedom.

Chloe nodded and didn't look back, pushing the double doors with all the strength she could muster, if they had been locked, she would probably have broken both of her arms, but luckily, they were not.

Oliver was right behind her, grabbing her arm once more and hauling her toward the white van that Vic was driving. They barely managed to clamber inside the back before a bullet slammed into the door, narrowly missing his head. " _Shit_ ," he uttered. "GO!"

Vic didn't hesitate, pressing his foot heavily to the gas pedal and peeling away, the tires screeching loudly.

"The others?" he asked, panting for breath.

"Made it out three minutes ago when you told them to abort the mission," Vic reported.

Nodding a little, he shut his eyes for a moment, breathing heavily and pressing his fingers to the comm device in his ear once more. "Target acquired, everyone's out."

Chloe barely even heard the exchange, the second they got into the van and the doors closed, she laid back on the cold metal floor and just focusing on catching her breath for a while, her chest was burning, but she didn't care, she was out. Finally. Thanks to Oliver and the others.

Oliver slowly opened his eyes and looked down at her. "You all right?" There was worry in his voice that bled through the voice distorter he was still wearing.

"Yeah," she took another deep breath then looked up at him as she pushed herself to a sitting position, "you?"

He nodded a little, reaching up and removing the dark glasses from his face and shoving the hood off his head. He leaned against the wall of the van, blowing out a breath and gazing at her intently.

"Is everyone out okay?" She said, after a deep breath as she leaned back against the opposite side of the van.

He gave a quick, short nod. "Yeah. We're all heading to a rendezvous point to meet up before we split up again."

"They'll be after us," she told him, lifting a hand to her stomach as she tried to catch her breath, "me."

"Chloe, they're not Department of Defense." His voice was quiet.

She took a deep breath and gave him a look, "I know, Oliver," she looked at him for a moment longer, "it's a 33.1."

Oliver gave a short nod. "Lex appears to be gone."

"Gone?" Chloe echoed, frowning deeply at that, "gone where?"

"Gone as in...for good. We think. He headed up north the same time you were taken, and all reports indicate he vanished somewhere near Clark's ice castle."

Her eyes widened, "vanished as in... possibly got teleported somewhere else or, gone as in dead?" She asked, needing the clarification.

He paused for a moment. "We're leaning toward the latter," he told her.

She blinked a couple of times, surprised then nodded a little as she took another deep breath, "if he made it to the arctic, it's probably better that way."

Oliver was silent for a few seconds, then drew in a breath. "Chloe, Clark's missing, too."

At that, she stilled completely, her eyes wide, " _what_? What do you mean missing?"

He exhaled slowly. "I mean, Clark seems to have vanished, as well. Around the same time that Lex did." His voice was quiet.

Chloe took another deep breath and rubbed her hand over her face, "do you have any leads?"

"Not so far. But we're working on it," he assured her softly. He shifted a little, grimacing at a faint, stinging pain in his arm. "We'll find him, Chloe."

She started to nod then paused, eyes widening when she realized he was bleeding, "you're hurt." She told him, sitting up and shifting closer instantly.

He held his breath as she invaded his personal space. "I'm all right," he told her. "Just grazed me."

"You're still bleeding," she told him, not thinking twice before reaching to remove his arm band, which was only going to make the bleeding worse.

Oliver watched her intently as she removed the arm band, their faces only a few inches apart. "And you're sure you're all right? They didn't hurt you?"

"I'm okay," she breathed, keeping her focus on his arm, not aware of close they were or of the intensity he was watching her.

"Good," he murmured, forcing himself to close his eyes.

"Thank you," She said finally, looking up at him once she decided the cut wasn't deep enough to need stitches, probably just another faint scar for his collection.

"Just glad you're all right. I'm sorry it took so long," He said quietly.

"How did you find me?" She asked, shifting back slightly to look better at him.

He smiled a bit at that, but it didn't reach his eyes when he opened them. "We've been hitting all of the known 33.1's looking for you."

"Thank you," she told him, watching him closely, "we need to work faster on destroying them, Oliver."

Oliver gazed at her. "That was the last one," he told her. "At least that we know about. We blew all the others."

"They have at least forty people in there," she told him quietly.

He rubbed a hand over his face tiredly. "We'll go back in," he promised.

"I can help," she assured him, she'd spent enough time inside to know the routine.

"I know you can," he said without hesitation. "And we'll need it."

Chloe held his gaze and nodded, then slid back to her side of the van and leaned back against the side of it again, "how long has he been missing for?" She asked after being silent for a long moment.

"Same time you went missing," he told her.

She looked at him again, her eyes widening, "all this time?"

Oliver didn't quite meet her eyes. "Yeah."

Chloe watched him for a moment then took a deep breath, rubbing her hands over her face, "what do you know?"

"Not much," he admitted. "Bart's been searching all over, but so far we haven't had any real leads."

She dropped her hands to her lap and nodded a little, pursing her lips together but remaining quiet.

"We're going to need your help to track him down." His voice was quiet.

Raising her eyes to look at him again, Chloe nodded, "as soon as we get back." She told him, just as quietly.

Nodding, Oliver took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Chloe looked at him for a moment longer, "is everyone else safe? Lois?"

Oliver nodded a little. "Lois is fine," he assured her quietly.

She sighed in relief and nodded a little, "how long will it take us to get back?" She asked, shifting her position to get more comfortable, as comfortable as she could be on the cold hard metal, anyway.

"A few hours," he told her, rubbing a hand over his face. "We should be back to Metropolis by nightfall."

Sitting up, she looked over at the front seat, "are you okay with driving?" She asked Victor, she had no idea how busy the boys had been lately, but if she had to guess, she'd say extremely.

Victor glanced at her in the rearview mirror and offered her a small smile. "Only heading to the airport," he told her.

"Oh," she tried for a smile and nodded a little, then relaxed slightly, she had no idea where they were, but at least, Oliver's plane would be much more comfortable than that so they could all rest and be ready to go when they got back.

"You all right, Watchtower?" There was concern in Vic's voice.

"Better now thanks to you guys," she said sincerely, meeting his eyes over the rearview mirror.

His smile brightened at that. "Welcome back."

"Thank you, Cyborg," she told him, managing a small smile.

Oliver smiled faintly at the exchange, leaning his head against the van's wall and shutting his eyes. He had a feeling a long week lay ahead of them.

* * *

They made it to Metropolis about five hours later, Chloe had ended up passing out in the plane, she hadn't been sleeping well at the facility for obvious reasons and using her new power was exhausting, but it had worked out well because she didn't really want to answer their questions about _why_ she had been taken to Black Creek to begin with,

Once they got back to Metropolis, Chloe realized that she didn't have a car, of course not until _after_ Bart had taken off to resume his search for Clark, so Oliver had offered to drive her to Smallville. Normally she would have turned him down, but she really just wanted to go home, take a shower, change and start her research on Clark, so she accepted it.

The drive had been mostly silent, she had nodded off again for a while, and it wasn't until she saw the 'Welcome to Smallville' sign that she spoke again, "thank you for driving me," she told him quietly.

"Not a problem," he said just as quietly, glancing at her sideways and offering her a small, faint smile.

"You can rest for a while if you want to," she told him, looking at him, "you need to get some rest, you look exhausted."

"I might just take you up on that one," he responded, pulling the car up in front of the Talon.

Chloe relaxed a little at that and smiled slightly, nodding, "good."

Oliver shifted the car into park and shut off the engine. "Sure you don't mind?"

"Of course not," she assured him, her voice sincere as she offered him a soft smile then reached for the door, opening it and stepping out of the car.

He smiled a bit and did the same, stretching a little from the long drive. Then he followed her into the Talon and toward the stairs tiredly.

Chloe looked around once they got upstairs and pulled on a loose board on the floor a moment later, pulling out a key then unlocking the door and smiling a little at Oliver, "if you ever need it," she told him before stepping inside.

Oliver blinked at that, then smiled, nodding a little. "Appreciate that."

She looked around when she walked in and frowned at the mess, someone had obviously searched her apartment and she could only guess it had either have been the team or Jimmy in search for clues on how to help her, at the thought of Jimmy, her stomach dropped a little. She hadn't remembered to ask Oliver is Jimmy was okay, and she still had to give him an answer for the question he had asked her just before she'd been abducted.

"Go ahead and take the bed," she told Oliver, shaking her head a little to clear her mind, she'd think about Jimmy later, they had to focus on helping everyone out of Black Creek and finding Clark for now, "I've rested enough, I'll start researching on Clark and I'll send everyone everything I think will be helpful for breaking into the Black Creek facility."

He hesitated. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," she smiled a little and nodded, "I got enough rest on the trip."

"I won't stay long," He promised, rubbing a hand over his face tiredly as he slipped his shoes off and sat down on the bed.

Chloe nodded, looking at him for a moment then walking over to her closet, "I'll go take a shower and I don't know what I have here food wise, but you're welcome to anything you can find."

"Thanks, Chloe. Appreciate it." He offered her a faint smile then laid down on the bed, shutting his eyes.

She smiled a little at him then walked inside her closet, wincing again at the mess before going around and finding herself some clothes. Even though it was messier than usual, it didn't look like anything was actually missing, so that was a plus. She felt guilty about wasting time with showering, but she needed to get into her own clothes instead of that jumpsuit they'd put her in as soon as they took her to the facility. She would just make sure to make it quick and as quiet as possible.

Oliver didn't even hear the front door of the apartment open as he turned onto his side, away from it, yawning.

Chloe stilled as she was making her way out of the closet, clothes in hand, she heard the door, then slowly made her way over to the living room, her eyes widening as she saw someone walking into the apartment and she held her breath until she realized who it was, "Jimmy?" She called in a whisper.

"Thank _God_ ," he exclaimed, making his way over to her and hugging her tightly.

She closed her eyes and hugged him back, she was glad to see he was okay and safe, but she'd been hoping to have some more time before she ran into him again.

"Are you all right? I've been so worried."

Oliver sat up at the sound of voices and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck awkwardly.

"I'm okay," she whispered to him, pulling back and looking up at Jimmy, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He gazed at her intently for a moment, then kissed her softly.

Her stomach clenched a little and she kissed him back, she knew she would have to talk to him sooner rather than later now that he was there, and she already knew her answer but now, with everything that had happened and could happen because Lex knew of her new power, she couldn't risk his safety anymore than she already was.

Jimmy looked at her once more, then confusion flickered over his face as he caught sight of Oliver. On her _bed_. It took about ten seconds for him to contemplate that, narrow his eyes, and glare at the other man. "What the hell are you doing here in _my_ girlfriend's bed?"

Chloe blinked, her eyes widening slightly as she turned to look at Oliver, then quickly turned back to Jimmy, "he helped me," she told him, holding on to Jimmy's arm to calm him down, "he found me, then he drove me home since I didn't have my car and I told him he could rest before he had to get back to Metropolis."

Oliver's own eyes narrowed at the tone of Jimmy's voice, and his jaw tightened a little. "Besides, if you know Chloe at all, you know she's too good of a person to cheat on you," he added, holding Jimmy's gaze.

Jimmy stared at him for a moment, then relaxed a little, nodding. "Of course she is." He slid his arm around Chloe's waist.

She raised her eyebrows a little at Oliver's words then looked up at Jimmy for a second, "we should talk outside," she suggested before looking at Oliver again, "you rest, I need coffee anyway."

He glanced at her, then shook his head a little, rising to his feet. "No, it's okay. I should head back to Metropolis."

Chloe pursed her lips together and shook her head, "it's a long drive, Oliver, you're exhausted," she told him, taking a step forward.

"I'll be fine," he assured her, holding her gaze.

She met his eyes for a moment then turned around, walking over to the kitchen and pulling a key from the top drawer then walking back to him, "keys to the farm," she explained, knowing that him staying at her apartment was out of question now that Jimmy was there, "just leave it under the flower pot to the right of the front stairs when you're done."

He frowned a little. "What about Lana?" he asked uncertainly, taking the keys from her.

"Oh," Chloe paused, "I can give her a call?" She offered, she really didn't want Oliver driving for three hours in the state he was in.

He hesitated a moment, contemplating just napping in his car for a little bit. "Yeah, I guess that's probably the best idea."

Jimmy looked between them. "So, wait. You helped Chloe get free from the DOD?"

Oliver turned his gaze back to Jimmy, then glanced at Chloe, his expression guarded.

Chloe held Oliver's gaze then looked over at Jimmy, "I'll explain," she lied.

"I should get going." He felt guilty leaving her there to deal with Jimmy alone. "I'll call if I find anything else on that project for Isis."

"Thank you," she said to Oliver sincerely, "I'll talk to you soon."

Nodding, he gave her a faint smile, then headed for the door.

She took a deep breath and watched as Oliver left the apartment before turning to Jimmy again, she had no idea where to begin, but she knew they had a lot to talk about. She looked at him for a moment then walked over to the bed and sat down, "I guess I still owe you an answer."

"I didn't even know you really knew Oliver Queen." He looked more than a little confused.

"Well, he and Lois used to go out," Chloe explained, "and he has been helping me with Isis Foundation for a while," she didn't like lying to him, but it was necessary.

"Yeah, I knew about him and Lois, I guess I just didn't realize you knew him well enough to converse," he told her with a slight shrug.

Chloe nodded a little then shrugged, "he's a good guy and he likes to help, I guess." She told him. At least that part was the truth.

"I guess." He'd never really given the guy much thought one way or another. "I'm just glad you're all right."

She pursed her lips together and nodded a little, trying for a smile, "I'm glad you're okay too."

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "Chloe, look...that stuff before you were taken..."

Chloe sat up a little and raised her eyebrows, nodding, "yeah, we should talk about that."

"I shouldn't have asked." He gazed at her. "We're not ready for that."

Her eyes widened a little in surprise and she nodded, pushing her lips together for a moment, "I agree."

Jimmy looked relieved at her agreement. "You know, maybe...someday."

Her face softened at that and she nodded a little, trying for a smile, "yeah, maybe. But not now."

He nodded, not noticing her expression. "Great. Um. Do you want me to stay over tonight, or...?" He scratched his head uncertainly.

Chloe took a deep breath as she stood up again, "I... had a lot of time to think about this, about us," she told him quietly, "and I don't think I can be with anyone right now." She told him quietly, waiting for a reaction.

Jimmy was silent for a moment. "Oh," he said simply, not looking terribly surprised.

"I care about you a lot," she said quietly, "but with my power, and then all of this happening," she said quietly, trying her best to talk around the lies, "I think there is a lot about myself I still need to figure out and I don't want you to be caught up in my mess."

"I don't mind it so much," he told her, rubbing the back of his neck.

"And it means a lot to me that you don't," she said sincerely, "but I need some time and I don't think it's fair of me to ask you to wait around when I can't be invested in this relationship as much as I should."

Jimmy watched her and then exhaled slowly. "All right. I get that," he said, nodding.

Chloe took a deep breath and nodded, relieved but doing her best not to let it show. She didn't want to hurt his feelings anymore than she already was, but she was glad this had been relatively easy, without her having to lie too much to him, "thank you, for understanding."

He nodded, giving her a small smile. "Guess I should be heading away then, huh?"

She tried for a smile too and pursed her lips together then nodded, "I guess that would probably be best."

"Right." He hesitantly gave her a quick hug. "You know, if you ever want to grab some coffee or something..."

Chloe hugged him back and nodded a little, watching him carefully, "you too," she said sincerely, "I'd like it if we could remain friends for now."

He smiled a bit. "Yeah. Me too," he agreed, nodding, as well.

She smiled a little back at him and nodded, "I guess I will see you soon, then?" She didn't want to kick him out, but she had to go looking for Clark as soon as possible.

"Yeah. I'll see you soon," he agreed, nodding and heading for the door.

Chloe watched as he left, this had been easier than she had expected it to be, also a lot more mature and amicable than she thought it would be, at least something had gone right, maybe they would find Clark sooner rather than later.


	2. Chapter 2

J'onn flew right to the front door of the farm, Clark still in his arms as he opened it and stepped inside. He looked down just in time to see the stab wound in his stomach closing completely and walked over to the couch, "alright," he told Clark, "you should be good as new soon." He assured him.

"Thank you," Clark said tiredly, at least the pain was gone and while he felt stronger than before, he still didn't feel normal.

Oliver jolted at the unexpected voices, and sat up quickly, his eyes widening at the sight. "Clark?"

J'onn stilled, Clark still in his arms as he looked down at the stranger.

"Oliver?" Clark frowned groggily.

"You're alive." He rose to his feet quickly, eying J'onn uncertainly.

J'onn eyed Oliver back for a moment, listening to his thoughts and once he was comfortable enough with the other man, he placed Clark on the couch then held out his hand, "I'm J'onn J'onzz, I'm a friend."

He shook the man's hand. "Oliver Queen," he told him, glancing down at Clark with worry.

"He knows Jor-El," Clark explained to Oliver sitting up and looking down at the place where he'd been stabbed.

Oliver blinked at that, his eyes widening a little. "Oh. Well that's...unexpected." He raised his eyebrows, then glanced at Clark again. "Are you all right?" He knew Clark didn't get injured easily, and the sight of the blood on the man's shirt made him uneasy.

"Yeah." Clark said, "I had lost my powers."

"Rest for a while longer," J'onn suggested, "it will be a while longer for you to get back to normal."

Oliver glanced between them. "Uh, yeah, I should let you rest. Give me a call when you feel up to it, or if you need anything."

"Wait," Clark said, frowning, "where is Lana? What were you doing here?"

He drew in a breath and shook his head a little. "I don't know about Lana. But I've been looking for you for weeks," he admitted.

"She's not here?" He asked, worried.

"I haven't seen her," he answered. "But I do know one other person who's going to be very glad you're back home safe." He gazed at Clark.

Clark's eyes widened, "is Lois okay?"

Oliver's jaw tightened just a little. "I meant Chloe, but yes, Lois is fine and I'm sure she'll be glad too."

He took a deep breath and nodded, then stood up, "I need to find Lana."

"Clark," J'onn warned, "why don't I go see if I can find her?" He suggested.

"I think that's a good idea," Oliver cut in. "Because if you're feeling up to it, then we need to talk."

Clark considered for a moment then nodded at J'onn, turning to look at Oliver as the other man sped away, "what's wrong?"

Oliver's eyes widened a little more when J'onn vanished. "So when you said he knew Jor-El, you mean he was actually from your planet?"

"Mars," Clark said, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck, "Jor-El recruited him when all his people died and he was sent here to help me."

"...right." He shook his head a little, not really wanting to deal with all of Clark's alien issues right then. "Anyway. Chloe was taken into supposed DOD custody the same time you went missing. We literally just got back from rescuing her. It wasn't the DOD at all. It was Lex's people. Now, I don't really know what they wanted with Chloe, but I do know that it was probably an attempt to get to you."

Clark's eyes widened at that, concern cleat on his face, "is she okay?"

"I think so. Shaken up, but she seemed okay physically." He gazed at Clark. "We've been looking, but it seems like Lex has dropped completely off the grid. What happened up there, Clark?"

"Lex was there," he took a deep breath, "he saw the fortress, he knows."

"But you're alive. And he's nowhere to be found." He studied Clark intently.

"I don't know what happened to him," Clark sighed deeply, "we need to find him."

"I'll get the team on it again. Are you sure you're all right? Do you need anything?"

"I'm okay, where is Chloe?" He asked, a little more urgently.

"She's at her apartment at the Talon," he told Clark.

"I need to go see her," Clark told Oliver, "if you get the team, maybe she can find Lana and Lex," he said.

Lana wasn't even close to being at the top of Oliver's priority list, but he shrugged. "All right. I'll see you later." He headed for the door, rubbing the back of his neck tiredly.

So much for a nap.

* * *

The past week had been... eventful. Clark was back, and had started working at the Planet. They hadn't found any leads on Lex and now that Clark knew Lana had left on her own, he had given up his search for her. Then Chloe met Bette, who had been nearly killed in a bus accident and was currently staying at the Talon with her until she found a more permanent place than a shelter since she had been currently living on the streets.

Chloe had taken over Isis foundation from Lana, and although she hadn't really been helping other people, she had been keeping the system up and running, it was the least she could do. Or she had been until the ceiling light decided to go off, which had ended up with her standing on a table, on her tiptoes on top of her heels, trying to get the replacement bulb into place, but her height wasn't exactly helping.

Oliver raised his eyebrows a little as he stepped into the room, his eyes falling on her curvy form standing on top of the table. "You know, I sort of think that standing on your tiptoes while wearing heels is probably a good way to break your neck."

She blinked and looked over her shoulder, smiling a little before turning back to the light persistently, "reading in the dark is bad for your eyes, I like my eyes better than my neck," she smirked.

He smirked, too. "I like them both, so let me help." He climbed up on the table beside her, carefully taking the bulb from her hand, their fingers brushing together.

Pursing her lips together, she watched as he screwed the bulb into place and shrug a little, "life would be so much easier with a few extra inches."

Oliver's gaze shifted to meet hers and he raised his eyebrows at her. "Somehow I don't think you'll have a problem finding someone for that." His eyes twinkled mischievously.

Chloe grinned softly and rolled her eyes, "well, I'm not currently looking, so maybe I need higher heels."

He grinned at her and glanced at her feet. "I don't know. I kind of think you're about the perfect height already."

"With or without the additional inches?" She asked, teasingly.

"I wouldn't change a thing," he told her with a grin, winking. He stepped down off the table, holding his hand out to her to help her do the same.

She smiled down at him, shaking her head a little then taking his hand and stepping down to the chair then the floor, "thank you for coming to my rescue."

And there was his opening. "Does your knight get a reward?" he teased, flashing her his best charming grin.

"A reward?" She echoed, cocking her head, "and here I thought you were doing this out of the goodness of your heart."

Oliver met her eyes, secretly glad she hadn't taken the bait. Part of what he liked and admired best about Chloe was her ability to keep him guessing. "Well, I did. But that doesn't deserve a reward?" he joked.

Chloe watched him for a moment then smirked, pulling her hand from his and patting his chest, "I'm sure you get enough rewards from the other damsels in distress you help every night," she teased, then lowered her voice, " _Arrow_."

He narrowed his eyes just a little. "You'd be surprised how many rewards I haven't been getting lately," he informed her.

"And you think I'm the one supposed to make it up for you?" She asked, smirking and tilting her head to the side.

He grinned at that. "Well, I wouldn't say no."

"Like I said," she told him, dropping her hand from his chest then brushing past him, "I'm not looking."

 _Ouch_. Before he had a chance to respond to that blow to his ego, an unfamiliar voice came from the doorway.

"Not looking for what?"

Chloe paused and blinked at the voice, turning to look toward the door, her face lit up immediately at the sight and her heart sped up an abnormal amount, "Davis?"

He smiled at her. "Hey." He stepped inside the office, not giving Oliver a glance. "I talked to my friend about Bette."

She took a couple more steps toward him and grinned, nodding, "yeah? Does she have a spot open? Did you get an application?"

Davis nodded and pulled the papers from his jacket. "Right here."

Oliver frowned a little, his chest tightening a bit at their exchange. "I guess I'll...get going then," he murmured, heading toward the door.

"Thank you," she told Davis brightly, smiling at him before turning to Oliver when he spoke again, "thanks for the help," she called.

He simply waved a hand as he headed out of her office, sighing softly as he headed down the hallway. Looked like Chloe definitely had a type.

And he didn't fit the bill.

* * *

Oliver was more than a little surprised to hear that Clark was now working at the Daily Planet alongside his ex-girlfriend, Lois Lane. He'd never known Clark to express any real interest in journalism, so it caught him off guard. Especially considering how Chloe had been fired from the same newspaper a few months before. It just didn't sit well with him.

But he shook his head a little and sat down at a table outside a cafe across from the Planet, taking a sip of tea and waiting for said ex-girlfriend to show up. Knowing the older cousin, she'd be at least ten minutes late.

Unless she needed caffeine, which, lucky for Ollie, was the case. She showed up less then two minutes later and grinned at him when she saw him there, she was about to walk up to him, but stopped a waitress on the way, "triple shot macchiato, on his tab," she ordered and pointed at Ollie before walking over to the table, "hey."

He smirked at her, shaking his head again and leaning back in his chair. "Hey yourself."

Lois took the seat across from his on the small table and smiled, "are you gonna tell me what the reason behind this meeting is?"

"What, I can't just want to catch up with an old friend?" He raised an eyebrow, a small smile on his mouth.

"Since when do you have time for that?" She teased, smirking.

"Ouch. Are you saying I don't make enough time for you, Lois?"

"I'm saying, you lead a busy double life, Ollie." She told him, raising her eyebrows.

He couldn't help but smile at that. "Well, I just wanted to let you know that...for the time being at least that busy, double life is going to be here in Metropolis."

"You're moving? Permanently?" She asked, surprised.

Oliver paused. "I don't know about permanently but...for the forseeable future." He needed to stay nearby in case Lex wasn't dead and he showed up and stirred up trouble. And considering who he'd named his successor...

"I'll take it," Lois smirked, then sat up when the waitress brought her her coffee, "oh thank God."

He raised his eyebrows a little. "So you're...okay with that?" he asked carefully.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Lois asked, frowning then sipping on her coffee.

"I just wanted to make sure you were comfortable with it," he admitted, watching her.

"Well at least here, I get to keep an eye on you, right?" She smirked, sitting back on her chair, "we should celebrate, you can buy me lunch."

A smile tugged at his mouth. "I think I can handle that, Lane."

"I'm just glad you have finally realized that Metropolis is so much better than Star City," she said, smirking once more.

Oliver rolled his eyes at that. "Oddly enough, I don't recall ever saying _that_."

"Give it time, Queen, and you will see the light. Especially during Christmas when the city is covered in snow like it should be." 

He gave a mock shudder. "Cold is over-rated, Lois," he said good-naturedly, smirking at her.

"White Christmases are not, Ollie, trust me," she told him, sitting back against her chair and sipping on her coffee again, "you should stop by the Planet sometime soon, Smallville keeps walking around with this perplexed look on his face, it's amazing."

"That he got hired as a journalist without having any schooling in the field or any previous experience beyond high school?" He smirked.

"The devil seems to like him, I think she's secretly in love with him," Lois said, mock whispering as she leaned forward, as if she was telling him a secret.

Oliver paused at that. "The devil?"

"Mercer? You know, the devil on heels you used to sleep with."

He winced. "Right," he murmured, watching her. "So she hired Clark?" That definitely confirmed some suspicions that had already begun forming in his mind.

"With one look at his baby blues and form-fitting plaid." Lois told him, sipping on her coffee again.

Oliver couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at her description. "So you've noticed that he wears _form-fitting_ clothes?" He smirked.

"So why do you think she hired him?" Lois asked, leaning forward again, not even bothering to subtly avoid Oliver's question.

He shrugged a little. "Your guess is as good as mine at this point." Not exactly the truth, but he couldn't really tell her that, either.

"Well, I'll find out," Lois told him, a determined look on her face, "even if I have to enlist Chlo to help me."

Oliver watched her for a moment, nodding. "I'll see if I can drum up anything myself."

"Awesome," Lois said, nodding a little, "now, you should pay here so we can go to the Indian place across the street, they have amazing food."

He couldn't help but shake his head, an amused smile touching his lips. It was good to know that at least some things didn't change.


	3. Chapter 3

Chloe looked down at her dress and adjusted it, then looked back around the crowd, rolling her eyes at some bimbos who were giggling by the bar. She could be back at Isis, actually doing some work, but Clark had turned on his big puppy eyes on her and had pretty much begged her to join him at Oliver's party at the Ace of Clubs, which he had to cover for his work. Since she really didn't have a good enough excuse anyway, she figured she'd come. Besides, she hadn't seen Oliver in a while and she liked hanging out with him.

At the sight of him, however, she rolled her eyes again. A brunette in each arm, one of them even sorta looked like her older cousin. Oliver definitely had a type, and it was the exact opposite of her. "Looks like Oliver is having fun already," she muttered to Clark. She liked Oliver, a lot, and she admired him for all he did, but the whole playboy thing, it kind of bothered her. He was a nice guy, he didn't need to go around, screwing everything in sight, it seemed desperate, but apparently it was what he enjoyed.

Oliver was already bored by the time he made it inside the party. He nodded at the crowd of reporters that circled instantly, offering them his best charming playboy smile and accepting a glass of champagne from a waiter that passed. He handed it to the brunette on his arm, then took one for himself as well, holding it up in a silent toast before taking a drink. He happened to catch sight of Clark and Chloe a few feet away, neither one of them looking particularly impressed.

Then again, the show wasn't for them to start with.

His gaze focused on Chloe and he smiled at her, but it quickly faded as his vision swam and he stumbled into the same waiter who'd offered the champagne. His heart was beating too fast, nausea was washing over him. It was all happening so incredibly, dizzily fast that it took him only a moment to realize what was going on.

And he was in big trouble.

Chloe smirked a little and was about to shake her head when she noticed Oliver tripping, "it's a five minute drive from the Clocktower, I don't think Oliver could drink enough fast enough to get that drunk." She whispered to Clark, her eyes widening.

"He's not drunk," Clark answered, taking a step forward.

The world spun as his legs gave out beneath him, Clark's hands the only thing that stopped his descent toward the floor. Without thinking about it, he gripped onto the man's arms for support, turning his head to see Chloe there, her image blurry.

Chloe rushed forward with Clark, "back off!" She barked at the reporters, shoving the camera one of them was holding away before walking over to the two men, "Oliver, what's wrong?" She asked urgently.

Clark tightened his grip on Oliver's arms to keep him upright, his eyes wide as he glanced at Chloe then back at Oliver.

Oliver blinked a couple of times, feeling most of his body starting to go numb. "Poison," he whispered, locking eyes with Clark. "No hospitals." And then his eyes rolled back in his head as he passed out.

"Oliver!" Chloe called, raising a hand to cup his head, her eyes widening even more as his body gave under him. "We need to get him out of here," she whispered to Clark urgently.

Clark nodded and took a deep breath, "lets go."

* * *

"He's burning up," Clark said worriedly, shaking his head as he half-carried, half-dragged Oliver into Chloe's office at Isis. "He needs a doctor."

"Davis is on his way," Chloe told him, pushing one of the seats closer to the door so Oliver could lay down on it.

"I thought Davis was a paramedic." He frowned, carefully draping Oliver's limp body over the seat.

"He is, but he can help," She assured Clark, adjusting Oliver on the seat then pressing her hand to his forehead, "hang in there," she whispered to him.

"Chloe, he needs a hospital, and doctors and..." He shook his head. "We can't sit around and wait."

"You heard him, Clark. He said no hospitals and when Oliver says something, it's for a reason." She said firmly, looking up at him, "we have to find another way."

He forced himself to take a deep breath. "All right. I'm going to go back to the party and see if I can find his date. Maybe she knows something."

She pursed her lips together and nodded, "I'll call you if anything changes." She said worriedly.

Clark nodded slightly, glancing once at Oliver and then heading out the door.

Chloe watched as Clark walked out then pulled a chair closer to Oliver's and sat down, covering his hand with hers and pursing her lips together, nodding, "we'll find a way," she promised him quietly, "just keep fighting it."

His eyebrows furrowed a little at her words and he turned his head toward her, though his eyes remained shut.

"You can hear me, can't you?" She asked quietly, reaching up with her free hand and cupping his cheek without really thinking about it, "you'll be okay."

Oliver shivered a little, beads of sweat on his forehead and chest.

"Tell me I didn't hear that right and that my ex-boyfriend didn't _really_ show up already trashed at a charity event," Lois said, bursting in through the door. She stared down at her cousin and Oliver.

Chloe blinked and instinctively pulled her hands away from Oliver, her eyes widening as she stood up, "Lois, it's not what it looks like."

"It looks like he's unconscious. What's going on?" There was now worry in her voice and she looked at Chloe.

"He's been poisoned," she told her quietly, looking just as worried.

Lois' eyes widened. " _What_? Poisoned? How do you know? Why isn't he in a hospital?" She shook her head.

"He said so, he recognized the effect, I guess?" Chloe pursed her lips together, "he specifically asked for no hospitals, I called Davis, my paramedic friend, he should be here soon."

She paused at that, forcing herself to take a deep breath. "Right. Well if he said no hospitals, I'm sure there was a good reason behind it."

Chloe nodded, letting out a breath then walking over to Oliver again, "his fever keeps getting worse, I'll go get some wet towels to see if we can keep it down."

Nodding, she glanced at her cousin, then moved to Oliver's side, sitting down beside him and covering his hand with hers. "Come on, Ollie," she whispered. "I didn't let you go to make the world a better place so you could up and die."

His eyebrows furrowed once more, his breath catching a little. "Mercy..." he whispered.

Chloe held her breath at her cousin's words and was about to make her way to the bathroom then stopped when Oliver spoke, "what did he say?"

"I don't know. I didn't understand it." Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked up at Chloe.

"Mercy," he murmured again. And then he fell silent, his head lolling to one side.

"Mercy," Chloe echoed, puzzled, then looked over at her cousin.

"I have no idea," Lois responded, shaking her head.

"I'll get the towels," Chloe said quietly, turning around and leaving the room this time, even as she tried to understand what the word meant.

* * *

Chloe sighed and checked at the clock, shaking her head a little, "it shouldn't be taking him this long," she told Lois quietly. Davis had left to get Ollie a heart monitor so they could keep a better eye on his condition, but that was almost half an hour ago.

Lois shook her head a little. "His fever's getting worse. It's 105. If it gets much higher..." Her voice trailed off.

"I know," she pursed her lips together, "when Clark gets back, we can ask him to go pick up some ice."

She rubbed a hand over her face. "I can't do this," she whispered, rising to her feet.

Chloe looked up at her cousin then took a deep breath, looking over at the door the instant it opened and getting up too, "oh thank god," she whispered when she saw Davis, "his fever is going up, is there anything we can do?"

Davis looked from Chloe to Oliver, his expression grim. "Chloe, he needs a hospital."

"We can't take him in, Davis," she told him tightly, lowering her voice.

"I'm not a doctor." He shook his head. "I don't have the kind of antibiotics and medicines he needs."

"Connect the heart monitor," she told him quietly, looking up at him, "we can't give him any medicine if we don't know what he has been poisoned with."

"If I don't take him in, he's going to die," Davis informed her, not moving from where he stood in the doorway.

"He said not to take him in, Davis and he _must_ have a reason for it, I have to respect his wish."

"No offense, Chloe, but he's a billionaire playboy," he responded, shaking his head. "And one that clearly wasn't in his right mind when he told you that."

Lois narrowed her eyes and glared at him. "Just hook up the damn heart monitor," she snapped.

Chloe pursed her lips together and stared up at Davis, "please."

He looked between them, his jaw tightening a little. Then he moved toward Oliver, carrying the portable heart monitor and quickly hooking it up.

She blew out a breath as she watched Davis work, pursing her lips together once he was done, "thank you, Davis." She told him quietly.

Davis paused and looked at her, nodding a little.

"I have to go. I can't sit here anymore," Lois murmured, heading for the door.

Chloe sighed softly and nodded, watching her cousin, "I'll call if anything changes," she called after her, then looked back at Davis.

"Thank you." She disappeared down the hall without another word.

Davis leaned back in the chair, watching the heart monitor intently.

Pursing her lips together, Chloe walked over to the opposite chair and reached for Oliver's hand again, "do you think keeping his body cold would help?" She asked quietly.

His gaze immediately locked on her hand as it touched the other man's. "It couldn't hurt."

Nodding a little, Chloe got up again, making her way to the kitchen, she didn't have a lot of ice, but it would have to do until Clark was back, she didn't want to leave Oliver.

The moment she headed away, the heart monitor made a loud whining sound and Davis leapt to his feet. "Chloe!"

She ran back in, her eyes wide as she held her dress up a little, "what's wrong?" She asked, looking from Davis to Oliver as she quickly made her way to his side again.

"His heart's stopped." He quickly grabbed the portable defribulator.

Chloe made room for Davis then took Oliver's hand again, squeezing it, "c'mon Ollie," she whispered quietly, "hang in there."

"Get back," he ordered, waiting for her to move away before pressing the paddles to Oliver's chest and shocking him.

She held her breath, glancing at Davis but just keeping her eyes on Oliver otherwise.

Davis glanced at the monitor, shaking his head a little when the line remained flat. "Come on, Oliver," he ordered, shocking him again, at a higher voltage.

Chloe's eyes widened as the monitor beeped again, her eyes teary as she looked from Oliver to the screen and brushed her fingers over his hair gently, "keep fighting, Ollie." She told him quietly.

Davis watched the monitor for a long moment, then blew out a breath, his expression tense. "If he flatlines again, I'm taking him in."

She took a deep breath and without thinking about it, pressed a kiss to Oliver's forehead, "I'll go get the ice."

Davis' eyes narrowed a little, but he watched her go silently.

* * *

After some research, Chloe had been able to narrow down the poison to a plant, she had sent Clark to talk to Tess Mercer since LuthorCorp had the plant in their catalog, but that had been a while ago, and Oliver was getting worse, "this is the last bag we have." Chloe said quietly, placing a bag of ice over Oliver's chest to try and keep the fever down.

Davis shook his head a little. "He's not going to make it," he said, his voice just as quiet. 

"Yes, he is." Clark suddenly appeared at the door, carrying a small vial in his hand. "This is the antidote."

Chloe's eyes widened and she looked up at Clark, then nodded at Davis, "hurry." She told him as Clark handed him the vial.

"What is it?" he asked warily, taking the vial. 

"The cure." 

"You want me to inject the guy with something I don't know anything about?"

"This is what he needs," Chloe said, holding Davis' gaze and pursing her lips together, "trust me."

Davis stared at her for a long time, then drew in a breath, pulled a syringe from his medical kit and injected the serum into Oliver's heart. "I hope you're right about this."

Chloe nodded, holding her breath and looking at Oliver as his body stopped shaking and convulsing, her eyes wide as she watched him. 

Clark stood beside her as well, looking worriedly at Oliver. 

Davis reached out and took his pulse, watching the heart monitor intently. "His pulse is slowing," he reported.

She let out a breath and picked up the ice bags from his stomach and chest then looked over at him again, "c'mon, Ollie." 

As if he could hear her, his head turned toward her, his eyebrows furrowing a little. Then he slowly opened his eyes.

Chloe stilled, relieved to see his brown eyes looking at her again. She smiled slightly and nodded a little, "you're okay," she told him quietly, not a doubt in her mind that the serum would work.

He swallowed hard, licking his lips and shifting his gaze to Clark, wincing as he tried to sit up. "Tess," he whispered.

She frowned, placing a hand on his back to support him then looked over at Clark too.

"What about Tess?" Clark asked, stepping forward.

"She's in danger," he whispered.

Clark frowned but nodded, glancing at Chloe then back at Oliver, "I'll go find her."

"Hurry." There was urgency in his tone. He glanced at Davis.

Chloe watched as Clark walked out of the room then took a deep breath, "can you make sure he's okay?" She asked Davis quietly. 

He nodded slightly, moving closer and taking Oliver's pulse and vital signs. "Amazing," he murmured, shaking his head a few moments later. "He seems to be perfectly fine." 

"Great." Oliver grimaced as he pushed himself out of the chair.

"Where are you going?" Chloe asked, frowning, "you need to rest, Oliver."

He looked over at her. "I need to find my date," he told her. Except he couldn't remember her name. Crystal Shue? Crystal Bennett? He wasn't sure. Crystal something.

Chloe pursed her lips together and shook her head a little, "Clark already did."

He could tell by her expression he wasn't going to like the outcome. "She's dead, isn't she?"

She held her breath and nodded a little, "they found her in the bathroom, someone took her to the hospital and..." she trailed off, watching him closely. 

Oliver looked away, nodding even as his jaw tightened. "Right."

"I'm sorry, Oliver." She said sincerely. 

"I know." His voice was quiet and he rubbed a hand over his face. 

Davis looked between them uncertainly. "I should really be getting back to the hospital." 

Chloe nodded a little, looking over at Davis, "I'll help you get everything back to the car." She told him then looked at Oliver, "lay down, you should probably take it slow for now."

He didn't look at her as he reluctantly sat back down in the chair, flinging his arm over his eyes as he shut them tightly.

She let out a breath then watched as Davis packed up the heart monitor and reached to grab his bag, waiting for him to be done packing before opening the door and leading the way outside.

"Keep an eye on him for awhile. Make sure he gets plenty of clear fluids to help him rehydrate," Davis advised as they walked. "And if he starts throwing up, get him to a hospital."

"Okay, I can do that," she told him quietly, "thank you for your help, Davis," she said sincerely, glancing up at him as they got to his car.

He nodded a little, turning to look at her. "I'd do anything to help you," he said quietly.

Her face softened a little and she nodded, "thank you," she said again, "and if there is anything you need..."

Davis gazed at her for a moment, then shifted closer to her, kissing her softly on the mouth.

Chloe stilled, her heart racing all of the sudden and although part of her was screaming for her to pull away, a stronger part of her returned the kiss. She kept it soft and pulled back a moment later, but when she did, her eyes were darker than normal. She had been attracted to Davis since the first time she saw him, but it had just gotten much stronger.

He smiled softly at her. "Can I call you tomorrow? Maybe take you to dinner?"

She blinked a couple of times and smiled a little, taking a deep breath and nodding, "yeah," she told him quietly, "yeah, I'd like that."

He smiled a bit more. "Then I'll talk to you tomorrow." He climbed into his car and headed away.

Chloe watched as he drove away then took another deep breath, rubbing her hands over her face and frowning a little, slightly confused by what had just happened, like she hadn't been in full control of her actions, but she shook it off and made her way inside. She was probably just tired and stressed out.

She was glad to find Oliver still laying there and more importantly, to see the movement of his chest as he breathed. "how are you feeling?" She asked quietly.

"Like I got ran over by a mac truck," he answered, not opening his eyes.

Chloe winced a little, "are you comfortable? Do you want a blanket?"

"No," he responded, exhaling and sitting up again.

"Oliver," she sighed softly, "you need to rest." Chloe looked at him, her expression serious and slightly pained, "you flatlined, twice. I'm not taking any chances."

"I need to know if Clark got to her on time." He gazed back at her, his eyes filled with worry.

Chloe wasn't sure why but her chest tightened a little at his expression and she nodded, "I'll give him a call."

"Thanks," he murmured.

She took a deep breath and pulled her phone from her pocket then walked over to the small kitchen to get Oliver some water as she waited for Clark to pick up.

Oliver sat back in his chair once more, rubbing his hands over his face tiredly. His entire body hurt, and he was exhausted, probably from the fever he'd no doubt been running. He'd forgotten how much it sucked to be poisoned.

Chloe came back a moment later, a little relieved and nodded at Oliver as she held out a glass of water, "she's safe."

He blew out a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding as he took the water from her. "Thank you," he said quietly, his voice sincere as he looked up at her.

She nodded a little and sat down on the chair next to the recliner he was in, watching him carefully "Davis said you should drink a lot of liquids since you are probably dehydrated because of the fever."

"Guess it hits your system harder the second time around," he murmured, taking a drink.

"Second time?" She asked, frowning, not surprised that he had been through that before considering he knew how long he had.

Oliver drew in a breath and looked over at her, offering her a small, faint smile. "Got stranded on an island once. Got poisoned in the process. I'll tell you all about it sometime," he teased tiredly.

"Well, I knew about the first part," she told him, "that's where you met Tess, wasn't it?"

He wasn't surprised she knew that. He knew better than anyone how well Chloe Sullivan did her homework. "It is," he confirmed. "She saved my life."

Chloe pursed her lips together and nodded a little, "when you were poisoned?"

He nodded slightly, meeting her eyes for a moment. "Yeah."

She took a deep breath and nodded, looking down. She didn't know much about Tess Mercer, but it looked like she was gonna have to do some research. Of course, she only needed about ten seconds to read everything ever published about the woman, so it shouldn't be a problem.

"Thanks for not uh--taking me to the hospital."

Chloe smiled a little at that and nodded, "thanks for warning us." She told him quietly, looking at him again.

A faint smile touched his lips once more and he nodded, too. "I'm just lucky the two of you were there or I'd pretty much be dead right now."

She felt slightly guilty at that, since she almost _didn't_ go and she knew Clark would have taken Oliver to a hospital despite his request, but she nodded a little, "I'm glad we were there."

"Me too," he said quietly, gazing at her intently.

Chloe held his gaze, her chest tightening again, "do you need anything?"

"I think I'm okay." He blew out a breath.

"Okay," she nodded a little, "I'll get you a pillow and a blanket," she told him, "or I can drive you to the Clocktower if you want, as long as you don't mind me staying there with you for a while longer." She offered, wanting to keep an eye on him. Watching him flatline had been scary enough.

"You wouldn't mind?" he asked, raising his eyebrows a little.

"Of course not," she said, a little surprised by the question.

He nodded a little. "Yeah, I'd like to get home. Take a shower at least." He grimaced.

Chloe pursed her lips together and nodded, picking up the shirt he'd been wearing and holding it out to him.

"Thanks," he said quietly, taking the shirt from her and shrugging into it with a wince. He buttoned it up slowly.

"Are you cold? I'm have a coat here that might fit you, I think one of your securities kept your jacket." She told him.

"I'm all right," Oliver assured her, offering her a small smile as he rose to his feet.

Chloe reached for his arm, just in case he lost his balance, "you sure?"

He nodded a little, glancing down at her hand and then meeting her eyes, his chest tightening.

She stilled, pursing her lips together and looking up at him, "I'm glad you're okay," she whispered.

Oliver swallowed hard and nodded a little. "Thank you," he whispered, lifting a hand to cover hers for a moment.

Chloe squeezed his arm, her heart beating faster than normal but unlike earlier with Davis, she felt in control of her actions, "let me get you home."

"Thanks, Chloe." His voice was sincere.

"No need to thank me," she told him quietly then tugged on his arm, "c'mon."

He smiled faintly, following her without hesitation. He was a lucky man to have a friend like Chloe.


	4. Chapter 4

  


Oliver sat at the bar of Ace of Clubs, nursing a glass of whiskey and glancing around the crowd boredly. Sighing, he downed the rest of his drink and ordered another, blinking and rubbing a hand over his face. He hadn't slept well the last couple of nights--not since he'd found out that Lionel Luthor had been responsible for his parents' deaths. When he had slept, he'd had nightmares that he couldn't fully remember, which in retrospect was probably a good thing.

Chloe took a deep breath and pursed her lips together as she stepped into the club. She hadn't been planning on ending up there when she was getting ready at home. She made it to Metropolis with some time to spare before her date with Davis, so she went to Isis and then, just as she was about to leave to meet with him, however, he gave her a call. Apparently he was going to be stuck with another shift since the person who was supposed to take over for him had called in.

She was already all dressed up and she had brought her things so she could stay the night at Isis anyway, so she decided she needed a drink. The Ace of Clubs was only a block away, so it was an obvious choice except now that she was there, she felt incredibly awkward being there by herself. Like the time when she went to her Senior prom on her own.

Blowing out a breath, Oliver had nearly given up on any hope of Tess showing, which in all honest, didn't surprise him. However, when he caught sight of Chloe in a teal colored dress and a jean jacket, he raised his eyebrows, his gaze raking over her involuntarily.

 _Torture yourself a little more, Queen,_ he thought bitterly. He had more of a chance with Tess than he ever would with Chloe. But it didn't stop him from setting his drink down and moving over toward her.

Chloe took a deep breath and a step forward but paused again when she felt eyes on her. She blinked and smiled a little, surprised to see Oliver walking toward her, "hey," she greeted and met him halfway.

"Hey, yourself," he responded, unable to stop himself from smiling at her. She just had one of those infectious smiles.

She was incredibly glad to see a familiar face, particularly Oliver's familiar face looking, well, healthier than the last time, although not one hundred percent it seemed, "what are you doing here?"

"Well, I was hoping to meet a red-head here, but looks like I got even luckier." He winked at her.

Chloe smiled a little at that and shook her head, "and here I thought you always went for brunettes."

"I actually prefer blonds," he said with a smirk, shrugging a little.

"And is that why I've _never_ seen you with a blond before?" She teased.

He chuckled. "Hey, we don't always get our preference," he told her.

"Somehow I don't think you would have a problem getting whoever you want," Chloe pointed out, smirking a little.

"Well, that's where you're wrong," he informed her, his gaze sliding over her again.

Chloe's eyes widened a little and she watched his eyes swiping over her body, her heart skipped a beat and her cheeks felt hot the instant she realized what he was doing, "sure, clearly you've had too much to drink already," she said, trying her best to brush it off.

Oliver shrugged again, watching her intently without responding.

She held her breath and stared at him, not sure what to say and then, "I should... let you go in case the red head shows up."

"She's not gonna show," he told her, finally looking away and sighing a little.

Chloe winced at that, "I'm sorry," she said sincerely, cocking her head to try and catch his eye, "it's definitely her loss, you know?"

"Yeah, I'm such a catch," he responded with a slight grimace, glancing back at her.

She paused and cocked her head, "you can't seriously think you're not."

"Read the papers lately?" he asked wryly.

"Daily, but I know _you_ and not just the Oliver Queen the media has created," she pointed out.

He shrugged a little, meeting her eyes for a moment. "Are you here on a date?"

Chloe blinked, she wasn't expecting the question. She pursed her lips together and looked away, "hm, no." She shrugged a little, "got canceled on."

Oliver paused at that. "And _that_ is definitely his loss."

She smiled a little at that, "I'll believe that if you believe me." She told him, raising her eyebrows and giving him a pointed look.

He met her eyes, a tiny smile touching his mouth. "Wanna drink to it?"

"That's what I'm here for," she told him, smiling a little more then nodding a little.

Oliver smiled a bit more then headed back toward the bar.

Chloe followed him, taking a deep breath and relaxing a little. Drinking with Oliver definitely beat drinking alone. Also, he looked like he could use the company as much as she did.

He sat back down and motioned to the stool beside him. "Whatever you want. On me." He picked up his glass of whiskey and finished it off.

She raised her eyebrows and shrugged off her jacket, placing it, along with her purse on the back of her stool before sitting down, "considering your bank account, that's a dangerous offer," she told him, smiling a little.

"Somehow I don't think I need to worry about _you_ bleeding me dry, Chloe."

"Sadly, I don't take nearly as long as my cousin to get drunk," she told him, smiling a little then ordering a long island iced tea. She wasn't big on drinking and it was what Jimmy always ordered.

A smile quirked his lips. "Are you telling me I may have to carry you home?" he teased.

She wrinkled her nose and shook her head, "I think I can walk the one block back to Isis."

"You're spending the night at work?" Oliver made a face.

"Better than driving back to Smallville," she told him, shrugging, "I wasn't sure how late I was gonna be out, so..."

"Why don't you stay at the clock tower?" he offered, glancing at her sideways as the bartender slid them their drinks across the counter. "I have all those guest rooms."

"Oh," Chloe shook her head a little, smiling softly at him, "I don't want to get in your way, Isis is pretty comfortable." She promised him, smiling and picking up her glass.

"You wouldn't be." He paused. "In my way, I mean. I'm just gonna crash anyway."

"I'll think about it?" She promised, raising her eyebrows a little. She wasn't really looking forward to spending the night at Isis, but she wasn't sure he meant the offer or if he was just being nice.

Oliver nodded a little. "Sure."

Chloe smiled softly at him then nodded, sipping on her drink then looking over her shoulder, around the room for a moment then pausing, "oh." She said quietly.

"What?" He frowned a little, turning to look to see what she'd seen.

She took a deep breath and smiled a little as she turned to look at Oliver again, "Jimmy is over there, in a major liplock with a red head." She told him quietly.

Oliver followed her gaze and blinked, staring for a moment. "What the hell," he muttered, rising to his feet.

"Oliver," Chloe said, her eyes widening as she placed her hand on his arm to stop him, "what are you doing?"

"He's dating you and making out with some other woman?" In his mind, especially in it's semi-inebriated state, he was well within his rights to punch Jimmy's face in.

"Oliver!" Chloe said again, her eyes even wider as she grabbed his arm in both her hands and pulled him to her, "stop, we broke up."

He stared down at her. "You broke up?"

She pursed her lips together and nodded again, looking up at him, "the day you brought me back from Montana." She told him quietly. "It's okay, I'm glad he's... moving on."

Oliver was silent for a moment, and he turned his head to look back at the couple once more, his eyes narrowing. "I know that dress," he murmured.

Chloe frowned at that and blinked, looking at them once more, "... is she red head you were waiting for?"

"Not even close," he answered, suddenly annoyed.

"Maybe someone else just has the same dress, Ollie," she pointed out, frowning.

Oliver shook his head a little. "No. This wasn't just any dress," he told her.

"Did you give it to your date?" She asked curiously.

"I sent it to her," he admitted, his jaw tightening. "Guess she had better things to do."

"Do you think maybe this is her sister or something?" She asked, even more curious.

"She doesn't have any siblings." Oliver glanced at her sideways.

Chloe frowned a little and nodded then took a deep breath, "I'm sorry she ended up with the dress somehow," she said sincerely despite how confusing the situation was.

"It's not your fault. It just solidified what I already knew." He finished off his drink.

"Which is?" She asked quietly. At this rate, she'd have to be the one to carry him home.

"That she hates my guts," he answered.

Chloe winced a little at that and frowned, placing a hand on his arm and rubbing it softly, "what happened?"

Oliver glanced at her, falling silent for a moment. "I cheated on her," he admitted, looking away again.

"Oh," she held her breath and fell silent too, not knowing what to say to that.

"Still so sure the media doesn't have me pegged just right?"

She frowned at that and looked at him for a moment, then nodded, "how many times have you cheated on people you were in a relationship with?"

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "Once. Because generally speaking, I don't do relationships."

"Exactly," she told him, "and as far as I know, your only serious relationships were with Lois and Tess," she said, raising her eyebrows, at least that answered the question of who the red head was, "and unless my research was wrong," which she knew it wasn't, "you and Tess were over a very long time ago."

His eyebrows furrowed a little at that. "Right...so...what's your point?" he asked uncertainly.

"People change," she said simply, "that doesn't sound like the Oliver _I_ know." She told him before sipping on her drink again.

"Or maybe you just have too much faith in people," he said quietly.

"Only the people who deserve it," she said just as quietly, glancing at him before looking down at her drink again.

"And why do I fall into that category?"

Chloe took a deep breath and turned to look at him, "when I walked into the Clocktower, you didn't even blink before handing me the controls to your entire team, you trusted me. Why shouldn't I do the same to you?"

He held his breath as he met her eyes, his chest tightening as he gazed at her, falling silent once more.

"Besides," she went on, holding his gaze and smiling softly and leaning closer as she lowered her voice, "I know how much good you do and you have no reason to do it, no destiny to fulfill, no power that you feel like you need to use for good. You just... do it. Because you can."

Guilt tugged at him. If she only knew. That he'd been neglecting those duties for the last couple of days, that he'd lost sight of the mission, that he'd lost the desire to even deal with being Green Arrow.

Chloe's face fell, she thought her words would work, they usually did, but then again, Oliver wasn't Clark. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head a little, not quite meeting her eyes. "I'm just not the guy you think I am, Chloe. Not anymore."

"What makes you say that?" She asked quietly, watching him closely and even though he wasn't looking at her, she was trying to read his eyes.

"It doesn't really matter." He shrugged.

"It does matter," she told him quietly, "especially if its upsetting you so much."

Oliver drew in a breath and looked at her, opening his mouth to respond when he caught sight of Clark approaching them. Instantly his expression hardened, his jaw tightening. "I should get going. Have a good night, Chloe."

"Oliver, wait," she said, confused since she hadn't seen Clark at all, "look, if you don't wanna talk, that's fine, I won't push you," she promised.

"You're not the problem," he told her quietly, reaching out and squeezing her arm lightly.

Chloe frowned more at that and turned to look over her shoulder, raising her eyebrows when she saw Clark, "did something happen?"

"You could say that. I'll see you around, all right?" Without giving her a chance to respond, he let go of her arm and headed away, through the crowd.

She blew out a breath and had no choice but to nod, she picked up her drink and finished it before picking up her things and starting in the direction of her best friend, if Oliver wasn't going to give her answers, maybe she could get them out of Clark, at least she knew which buttons to push with him. 

* * *

Tess Mercer looked around the empty Talon with one eyebrow raised. She wasn't sure why Lex had allowed such a small business stay open for as long as he had, but there were a lot of mysteries about Lex Luthor that she'd yet to figure out. She would, given the time. And when he came back, she'd ask him herself. She pursed her lips as the door opened and she turned to regard Chloe Sullivan intently.

Chloe arched an eyebrow as she made her way down the stairs and saw the red head standing there, she recognized the woman immediately of course, but she didn't let it show, she wanted to know what she was doing there first, "I'm sure you realize the coffee shop is closed."

"I think that only matters if I came here to be served," she responded, a tiny smirk on her mouth.

"In that case, you're free to admire the decor," Chloe said blankly, staring at the woman for a second then starting toward the door.

"That's not what I'm here for either, Chloe."

Chloe paused when the other woman used her name, apparently she wasn't the only one who had done her research, she turned around and arched an eyebrow, "then what are you here for, _Tess_?"

Her smirk widened just a little at that. "To talk to you, actually. I have a proposition for you."

"You do?" She said, surprised, "well, I'll save both of us time and let you know up front I'm not interested in anything that has a connection to the Luthors, including their lackeys."

Tess raised her eyebrow at that. "I did read about your rather complex history with Lex and his father." There was a hint of curiosity to her voice.

A smirk appeared on Chloe's lips this time and she cocked her head, "and a lackey who can read too, now that's a first."

"For someone whose life was saved on more than one occasion by Lex, I'd think you'd have a bit more respect than that." She folded her arms across her chest.

"Clearly you need to work on your text comprehension, Tess," Chloe said sharply, her expression cold, "I've dealt enough with the Luthors to know that nothing comes without a price and that is just one of the reasons why I want absolutely nothing to do with you."

"Well, it's a good thing _I'm_ not a Luthor then, I suppose." She took a step toward Chloe. "I have a project I think that you might find intriguing."

"And I guess since you know me so well, I have no choice but to listen?" She said, her words dripping in sarcasm. Sure, she'd never met the woman before, but between the fact that she was connected to Lex and the fact that she'd hurt Oliver the other night, it was enough for her to dislike her immensely.

"I know you have more experience than most when it comes to a computer. I have one that I think you might have interest in looking at." Tess studied her intently.

"And why would you think that?" Chloe asked, doing her best to keep her expression blank and uninterested.

"Because this computer is very unique. As in one of a kind. A super computer," she said evenly.

"Wow, how could I possibly refuse the offer?" Chloe smirked, "like I said in the beginning, Tess, I'm not interested and you just wasted my time, now if you don't mind, I have places to be."

"Of course. I'm sure you must be _incredibly_ busy between the new paramedic in town and taking over Isis from Lana Luthor," Tess responded with a smirk of her own.

Chloe paused at that and raised her eyebrows, "you've been spying on me, then? You must be _really_ bored if you think my life is interesting enough to be watched, but here is a little secret," she said, taking a step forward and looking Tess dead in the eye, "you're going to have to try a lot harder than that to bully me into doing your dirty work for you, Tess, because I've played in the Luthor sandbox long enough to know _exactly_ how to deal with your kind." She said firmly, her voice low. She stared at the red head just for a moment longer before turning around and finally making her way to the door.


	5. Chapter 5

  


Oliver was already in her office by the time she arrived. His feet were propped up on her desk as he sat leaned back in her chair, hands folded behind his head. He was fairly certain she wasn't expecting to see him first thing in the morning. Or at all.

"I want an answer, or you better start looking for a new career," Tess barked at her assistant as she pushed her office's door open, her eyes narrowing when she saw him sitting on her chair.

He flashed her his best charming grin. "I think you have your answer already, Mercy."

"What are you doing here, Oliver?" She asked, walking further into the room and placing her files over her desk.

"I came to see you," he answered with a shrug, dropping his feet to the floor.

"You've seen me, now find your way out, I have work to do." She said, placing a hand on her hip and staring down at him.

Oliver rose to his feet, standing very close to her. "I'll leave right now if you agree to let me take you out to dinner tonight."

"Always wanting what you can't have, you haven't changed at all," Tess smirked then walked around him, making her way to her chair.

"Actually I've changed more than you could possibly imagine."

She took her seat and looked up at him, "now why don't I believe that?"

"Because you haven't been around me for ten years," he said easily, shrugging and smiling at her.

"And yet, here you are, acting the exact same way you did back then," she said boredly and pulled her folders to herself.

Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "And maybe it's just an act," he said quietly.

"Is it?" She asked, cocking her head and looking at him again, "by all means, don't put up an act for my sake, I know who you really are." She said sharply.

"Do you?" He asked softly, gazing at her.

"Don't I?" She asked, staring up at him, an eyebrow perfectly arched, daring.

"No. But we can change that, if you're willing to have dinner with me."

Tess stared at him then paused, looking back down at her notes, the hint of a smirk appearing on her lips when she was sure he couldn't see her face, "you can pick me up at seven."

He paused, blinking a couple of times, surprised. "All right." He headed for the door.

She watched as he left the room a satisfied look on her face as she did before she turned back to her work.

A faint smile on his face, Oliver headed out of LuthorCorp a moment later and paused on the sidewalk when he caught sight of a familiar figure sitting outside a cafe across the street. He watched her for a moment, glancing around and not seeing anyone else around her, then slowly crossed the street and dropped into the chair across from her wordlessly.

Chloe jumped and blinked when she felt a presence next to her, she half expected to see Davis sitting there, he seemed to have the habit of just surprising her, but as she lifted her head and looked away from her paper, she realized it wasn't him, although considering the fact that she didn't suddenly feel like she had no control over her body and actions she should have know it was someone else, "Oliver?" She asked, a smile appearing on her lips, "what brings you here?"

"Well, I saw you sitting here and realized it had been awhile since I saw you, so..." He paused. "Or is this one of those 'me time' things?" he asked uncertainly.

"More like a daily routine," she confessed, shrugging a little, "I like coming here, drinking my coffee and reading the paper before I start work," she grinned softly and lowered her voice, "just don't tell my boss."

A smile tugged at his mouth. "I just pay the bills. I'm not anyone's boss," he corrected her.

"You did the hiring, that kind of makes you the boss," she pointed out.

Oliver shook his head a little. "Semantics. Regardless, your secret is safe with me." His eyes were bright.

"That's all I'm asking for," she grinned brightly, then picked up her cup, "wanna join me?"

"Absolutely." He lifted his hand and motioned to the waitress. "I'll have whatever she's having, and she'll take another."

"Yes, Sir, Mr. Queen." She smiled at him and headed inside.

Chloe blinked and looked at the waitress then back at him, "I thought you didn't really like coffee, do you realize you just ordered a drink with three shots of it?"

Oliver grimaced a little at that news. "I guess one cup won't kill me."

She laughed softly and shook her head a little, "we'll get you some water too, help you dissolve that through your system or you will be in a caffeine high all day."

"I think you'd enjoy that," he accused, his voice teasing.

"Me? Never," she smirked, looking at him sideways. "I just might follow you around for a while. With a camera."

He grinned at her. "Instead of a pad of paper and a pen? Consider me shocked."

Chloe shrugged at that and glanced down at the paper, her smile slipping for a second, but she forced it back in place quickly, "those days are over, I watch now."

Oliver's smile slipped, as well. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.

She shook her head a little and shrugged, "not your fault, I'm just... adjusting."

He looked down for a long moment. Maybe if he got things on track with Tess, he could get her to rehire Chloe at the Planet. Chewing the inside of his cheek for a moment, he glanced up at her.

Chloe paused at that and raised her eyebrows, "what is it?"

He shook his head a little. "Nothing. What are your plans for the day?"

"Just going back to Isis once I'm done here," she told him, not wanting to tell him her dinner plans and she had no idea why, "you?"

Oliver shrugged a little. "Don't really have any," he told her.

She raised her eyebrows at that, "that must be a first for you, no?" She asked curiously.

"I'm a billionaire playboy. I don't have to have plans," he joked.

"No, but you have a lot of people dying to plan for you," she pointed out, smirking.

"Naturally." Oliver smirked back at her. "Doesn't mean I let them."

"Good for you, that's a quality in every playboy, not many manage to keep control over their lives," she teased.

"Well, it's a difficult job," he admitted with amusement. "But somehow I'd rather spend time with people I actually like."

"You mean the board isn't made of your best friends? How odd." She smirked.

"I try not to play favoritism when it comes to _QI_." He raised an eyebrow, his smirk widening a little.

"Oh? What about your other businesses?" She asked, cocking her head and pausing to thank the waitress as she brought over their drinks.

Oliver shrugged a little, picking up his cup and taking a drink. He made a face. "Well, you could say I have favorites in other business."

Chloe smirked and shook her head, reaching for his drink and pulling it away from him, her hand brushing against his as she did but she ignored the spark there, "just order something else, don't torture yourself."

The breath caught in his throat as their skin touched lightly, his eyes darkening just a little at the contact. "What's good here?" he asked.

"I don't ever drink tea," she admitted, "but I heard the chai isn't bad?" She told him quietly, her chest a little tight at the change in his eyes.

Oliver held her gaze, nodding a little. "You're going to be on the ceiling today," he told her, nodding slightly at the cup she'd taken from him.

"I'll probably just take it back to work with me, throw in some ice and have it iced later, not even I can handle nine shots in less than an hour." She said quietly, keeping her eyes on him.

"It is a lot to handle," he said just as quietly, not looking away. "But I guess if anyone could, it'd be you."

"I rather not scare you away when I start talking non-stop," she told him, smiling a little.

A smile tugged at his mouth involuntarily. She always seemed to have that effect on him. "I don't think it's possible for you to scare me away."

"You haven't seen me out of control yet," she smirked.

Oliver's eyes widened just a little. "No, I guess I haven't. But you haven't seen me that way either."

She blinked, just once when she saw the look on his face, but continued anyway, "no, I haven't."

He gazed at her intently, nodding a little and falling silent.

"Maybe we will, eventually," she shrugged, smiling at him, not sure what she meant by that.

"Maybe," he said softly, not taking his eyes off her.

Chloe nodded a little then took a deep breath, finding herself unable to break eye contact, "have you decided what you want?"

He held his breath for a moment. "I have a pretty good idea, yeah."

"What is it?" She asked quietly.

"Excuse me," a new voice said, making Oliver look up to see a man a little older than himself standing there.

"Yes?" His eyebrows furrowed a little and he glanced over at Chloe.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but I was setting up something new in my shop and I was hoping the two of you could give me your opinion."

Chloe frowned and blinked a couple of times, tearing her eyes from Oliver to look at the man, "what kind of shop is it?" She asked, trying to be polite.

"A jewelry shop," he told her with a warm smile.

Oliver raised his eyebrows and looked at Chloe again, shrugging.

"Oh," she nodded a little glancing at Ollie and shrugging too, "sure."

He set some money down on their table and picked up one of the drinks to carry for her, winking at her.

"Thank you," she told him, smiling softly at him then stood up too, picking up her purse and the other drink, "we can stop by here on our way back and I'll buy you whatever you want." She told him, smiling softly.

He shook his head a little and rested his hand on the small of her back without thinking about it, following the man into the jewelry shop. "It's all right. I'm not really thirsty anyway. I just needed an excuse to hang around for awhile." He smiled softly back at her.

"You need an excuse to hang out now?" She asked, cocking her head a little, she held her breath when she felt his hand on her back, but did her best to ignore the effect he seemed to have on her.

"Don't I?" he asked, his voice dropping a little as he looked at her.

Chloe looked up at him, holding his gaze and shaking her head just slightly, "absolutely not." She whispered.

Before he could respond, there was a sudden, sharp pain in his stomach and he looked down to see a dart sticking out of his gut. He blinked, feeling weak and dizzy suddenly. "Run," he whispered.

Her eyes widened and just as she looked down to his stomach, she felt the same sharp pain on her own, she looked down at her own stomach but before she could say anything, she felt her knees giving under her and just as she managed to find his hand and hold on to it, everything went back.

* * *

Oliver didn't remember drinking, but his mind was fuzzy like he'd had a few too many, and his stomach hurt. Then again, even hungover he didn't tend to wake up with his arms pinned behind his back. He groaned a little and lifted his head, looking around and not seeing anyone. But he heard breathing behind him.

His eyes widened a little. "Chloe?"

"Oliver?" She whispered, she'd woken up a few seconds before him, her head was pounding and her stomach was hurting, "are you okay?"

"I'm all right. Are you okay?" he whispered back, feeling her hands tied tightly to his.

"Yeah," she told him, turning her head toward him, "do you think you can untie us?"

"I'll try." He shifted a little, wincing as the ropes dug into his skin, and probably hers. "Then again, maybe not."

Chloe winced too and took a deep breath, nodding, "it's too tight... I wonder if Clark could hea--" But just as she was about to talk, she heard footsteps and stilled, closing her eyes as the light suddenly came on over them.

Oliver grimaced at the sudden blindingly bright light. "If you're trying to make us go blind, you're doing a great job."

"Quiet," a man spoke, his voice muffled, "you're here so you can make sure you belong together," he told them, stepping into view, "or you will end up like them."

Her eyes widened as she looked up at the man, then lifted her head, seeing the body of a woman tied to a chair.

Oliver looked up as well, not quite understanding what the man meant by belonging together. He tensed when he saw a man tied to the chair near him, dead. "What have you done?" he whispered.

"What are you doing?" Chloe demanded, looking up at him.

"You'll find out," he told them, leaving down and touching a taser to both of their arms at the same time until they were unconscious again.

* * *

When Chloe woke up again, she was much more uncomfortable than before, she shifted to stretch her arms only to find them tied again and with a quick look around, she realized she was tied to the same chair the woman's body had been on before, "Oliver!" She called in a whisper, hoping it'd be loud enough.

He winced a little, blinking a few times in the darkness and trying to locate her. He tried to move, but found his arms were chained down to the chair he was apparently now stuck in. "Chloe?"

She blew out a breath, not sure if it was a good thing that he'd answered her or not, at least she knew he was alive, but the problem was, they couldn't know for how long.

"What the hell is going on?" he muttered, yanking at the chains.

"You will get your answers now," the man said, turning the lights on once more, "I'm here to help you."

Chloe swallowed and looked from Oliver to the man, only now noticing he was wearing a plastic mask, it deformed his face just enough to make him unidentifiable.

Oliver stared at him, his stomach tightening. "We don't _need_ whatever kind of help it is you think you're here to give us."

"You do," he told them, pushing a cart toward them, "you all do, so you don't make the same mistake _I_ did."

"What mistake is that?" he asked warily, staring at the cart.

"To be with someone who doesn't _deserve_ you!" He answered angrily.

"What? We're not..." Chloe started, then stilled as the man hooked something to her finger then to her chair, "what is that?"

"This? This is just a simple lie detector test. Completely harmless in the scheme of things."

Oliver stared at him.

"And what is the scheme of things?" Chloe asked, her jaw tightening.

"Finding out the truth." He moved over to Oliver and attached the prongs to his finger and then his chair, as well. Then he moved over to another machine, opening and shutting a couple of large alligator clamps that sparked.

"I suppose you're going to tell us _that's_ harmless too," Oliver snapped.

"No, this is where it hurts." He told Oliver before moving to stand by the lie detector. "When you lie, you hurt the ones who love you."

"This is a mistake!" Chloe said, her eyes wide, "we're not... we're just friends!" She told him.

"First lie, and I haven't even started the questions," the man said, pressing a button and sending a charge of electricity to Oliver's chair.

Pain hit him instantly and he couldn't stop the cry from escaping him as the electricity seized his entire body in its grip, causing him to convulse involuntarily.

"Ollie!" Chloe cried, fighting against the restrains, her eyes widening.

"Now you understand how it works." The man said, satisfied, "when you lie, the other person gets hurt."

Oliver let out a shuddering breath, beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead as he looked over at her, swallowing hard, his chest heaving.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered to him, her eyes wide as she watched him closely, trying to make sure he was okay.

He nodded a little, holding her gaze. "I'm okay."

She blew out a breath and nodded a little, keeping her eyes on him.

"I'm sorry isn't any good after you've lied, Chloe," the man said, getting in her face for a second before looking over at Oliver, "lets see if you can do better than her."

Oliver narrowed his eyes and glared at the other man. "Don't _touch_ her," he said darkly.

"That's not what I'm here for," the man told Oliver as he approached him, "have you ever cheated on her?"

His jaw tightened and he looked over at Chloe. "No, because we're not _together_ ," he answered, still glaring.

" _Wrong_ answer," he told Oliver, hitting Chloe with a wave of electricity this time.

She screamed, her back arching as she closed her eyes tightly, her fingers wrapping around the chair reflexively.

"STOP IT!" he shouted, struggling against his restraints.

"You think no one tried to get out of this by saying they are not together before?" He shook his head, "can't you see I'm doing you a favor?"

"Yeah, shocking us to death is really fucking wonderful," Oliver snapped.

"So many people waste their time in relationships just to get their hearts broken like I did," he explained, looking at Chloe again. "what about you? Have you ever cheated?"

She took a deep breath and shook her head, her eyes wide, "no." She said simply.

Oliver swallowed hard, not surprised that he wasn't shocked at her answer--metaphorically or physically.

The man checked the lines in the lie detector and nodded, keeping his eyes on Chloe for a moment longer before looking at Oliver again, "back to you, let's see if you deserve her."

He forced himself to take a deep breath, staring at the man silently.

Chloe took a deep breath too, keeping her eyes on Oliver as she waited.

He took another step toward Oliver's chair, holding up the device that would shock Chloe again if he lied, "do you love her?"

 _That_ caught him off guard. He stared at the man for a long moment, silent. Then he looked over at Chloe, his chest tightening painfully.

She took a deep breath at that and nodded slightly, holding still as she prepared for the shock.

He shut his eyes for a moment, exhaling.

"Do you love her?" the man asked again, moving closer to him, his voice raising.

" _Yes_ ," Oliver answered, his jaw tight.

Chloe closed her eyes instinctively and waited, then blinked her eyes open when the shock never came.

"Good," the man said, then turned to Chloe, "what about you, Chloe, do you love him?"

Oliver didn't look at her, staring instead at the man's shoes and willing him to die on the spot.

She swallowed hard, taking a deep breath and willing herself to stay calm, she knew how the lie detector worked and if she remained calm, it would think she was telling the truth, she wasn't sure if she was lying anyway. She kept her eyes on Oliver even as he looked away.

"Yes," she said quietly, staring at Oliver for a moment longer before looking at the man again.

When no shock flowed through him, Oliver slowly lifted his gaze to look at her, holding his breath.

The man was silent for a moment. "Good." He moved away from them and picked up a gun. "Congratulations. You're suited for each other."

Chloe's eyes widened a little as she looked over to Oliver then back at the man, "what are you doing?"

"Pronouncing you man and wife." Without warning, he leveled the gun at Oliver and fired, then aimed at Chloe and did the same.

* * *

The next time Chloe woke up, she was much more comfortable than the previous two times, and for a change, her hands were not tied up, she shifted a little, squinting as she recognized the Talon apartment, and then she felt someone laying beside her and turned her head, not surprised to see Oliver there, "Oliver," she called, reaching for his arm and relaxing when she felt it warm under her touch, at least he was alive.

He shifted a little, his eyebrows furrowing. "Chloe?" he mumbled. He slowly opened his eyes to find her laying beside him in a bed.

"Are you okay?" She asked, her eyes wide as she pushed herself up on her arm and turned to face him.

"I think so. Are you?" He winced a little and sat up, as well.

"Yeah," she told him, blowing out a breath and rubbing her hands over her face.

Oliver swallowed hard, nodding a little. "We need to call the police."

"I know," she said quietly, pursing her lips as she remembered everything that had happened in there, "I'll call Clark, see if he can find anything around that area."

"All right. I'll call the the cops." He rose to his feet, wincing as his muscles ached.

Chloe nodded, getting up too and picking up the landline before dialing, surprised to find her purse, seemingly intact laying on the bed next to where she was, well at least they should have enough for fingerprints if nothing else.

Oliver placed the call to the police, rubbing a hand over his face tiredly and glancing at the clock. It was nearly ten o'clock in the evening.

Once she had given Clark as much information as she could think of, she hung up too and turned to face Oliver, "he's on his way."

"Great." His voice was flat. "So are the police."

She shifted, uncomfortable then placed the receiver back on the base, "are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, Chloe." His voice softened a little at her concern. "Are you sure _you're_ all right?"

"Yeah," she told him quietly, watching him closely, "I'll give Lois a call and see if she can pick us up, my car is in Metropolis."

Oliver hesitantly took a step toward her, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Should we talk about what happened?" he asked uncertainly.

Chloe stilled and took a deep breath, looking up at him and nodding a little, "I guess so."

He swallowed hard, nodding, too, and falling silent.

She pursed her lips together and watched him for a moment, "I'm not sure what to make of it," she told him quietly.

"Which part, exactly?" he asked, searching her eyes.

"Our answers," she said quietly, looking down then back at him, "and the fact that he seemed to think they were the truth."

"You don't think they were?"

"I don't know," she told him, taking a deep breath, "I've never thought of this before."

"Right." He let his hand fall away from her shoulder. "It makes sense though. I mean, we're friends, so." He swallowed hard, looking away.

Her chest tightened at that and she nodded, looking down, "yeah, and he was just some... crazy lunatic." She whispered. 

Oliver looked back at her. "And you're seeing tall, dark and paramedic." He tried to smile.

She looked at him, but didn't manage to smile, "and you're trying to reconnect with Tess," she said quietly.

He couldn't help but shift closer to her, hesitantly lifting a hand to her cheek.

Chloe stilled, her heart skipping a beat as she blinked a couple of times and looked up at him. 

He held her gaze, slowly lowering his head toward her. 

"Sorry it took so long. Are you two all right?" Clark asked worriedly as he made his way into the apartment.

Her eyes were fluttering shut and she was angling her head when she heard Clark and pulled back quickly, blinking a couple of times and taking a deep breath before nodding, "hm, yeah, we're okay." She blurted out, not looking at Oliver. 

Oliver dropped his hand from her face as she jerked away from him and he didn't look at her or at Clark. "I'm gonna go downstairs and wait for the police," he said shortly, heading for the door.

Chloe's chest tightened as she watched Oliver walk away, she blinked a couple of times then looked at Clark, "did you find him?" She asked quietly, wrapping her arms around herself. 

"No. But I will," he promised, frowning a little. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," she told him, "just shaken up," she looked up at him, "I wanna go take a shower before they get here, mind going downstairs and keeping an eye on Ollie?"

"Sure thing," he said quietly, moving forward and hugging her. "I'm glad you're all right."

Chloe hugged him back and nodded a little, "thank you."

"I'll be downstairs if you need anything." He reluctantly let go of her and headed out the door.

She nodded, taking a deep breath as she watched him go and rubbing her hands over her face. Whatever new found feelings she might have for Oliver, she would just have to work hard on pushing them aside since he didn't really seem to be interested in her like that.  
Oliver stood leaned against the entrance of the Talon, staring outside blankly, arms folded across his chest. He tensed a little at the sound of footsteps that he knew instinctively weren't _Chloe's_. Which meant they were Clark's.

Clark took a deep breath and walked up to Oliver, "are you alright?" He asked, sincerely concerned as he stepped up to where the other man was standing. 

He didn't look at the other man. "I'm fine, Clark."

"Chloe asked me to wait here with you while she showered," he said, as if that left no room for arguments. 

"I don't need a babysitter," he said distantly.

"She just wants to make sure you're okay," Clark told him, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the opposite wall.

"Like I said. I'm fine." His jaw tightened a little.

Clark looked at him for a moment then nodded, sighing and falling silent. 

He leaned his head against the door and waited. He just wanted to get this all over with, and get away from Smallville as fast as possible.


	6. Chapter 6

  


Chloe took a deep breath and got out of the car when she saw the airplane door opening, she didn't even wait for Oliver to come out, she couldn't waste time and the fact that he had chosen today of all days to fly back into town was just perfect timing. She wasn't looking forward to this reunion, especially not considering he had been ignoring her calls.

They hadn't spoken since that night after they gave the police their statements and he took a cab back to the city, not wanting to wait for Lois to give him a ride, but it had to be done.

"Oliver?" She said, her stomach tight as she stepped into the plane.

He started, jerking his head up to look at her with wide eyes. She was about the last person he'd been expecting to see. Especially right then, on his plane, after it had just landed. "You know how you always say we need to wear bells? Include yourself in that."

"I tried calling you, but you weren't picking up," she said defensively and stepped further into the plane, he didn't seem particularly happy to see her and she didn't want to be there, so she was going to get down to business, "I need your help."

He blinked at the defensiveness in her voice. "I was on a ten hour flight back from Venezuela," he told her, watching her for a moment before sliding some papers back into his briefcase. "What do you need help with?"

"Lois and Clark went missing this morning and I think I can bring them back, but I need a piece of equipment," she told him.

Oliver lifted his head to stare at her. "What do you mean they went missing?"

"I went to the farm and they were gone," she told him, watching him closely, "and I think this has something to do with it," she told him, pulling a blue crystal from her bag.

His eyebrows furrowed a little and he moved closer to her, reaching out and taking it from her, turning it over in his hands. "What the hell is it?" he asked in confusion.

"It's a Kryptonian crystal, Clark's link to his heritage. I need you to steal the equipment that will help me unlock it." She said blankly, pulling her hand back.

He grimaced a little, handing it back to her. "You know, Chloe, I don't think Clark would want you messing with that kind of...stuff." And frankly, he didn't either.

She slid the crystal back in her bag and looked up at him, "I need to bring Lois and Clark back, Oliver, I don't have a choice."

"What makes you so certain they're not just following some big story?" he asked, shaking his head a little.

"I've searched everywhere, both their cars are at the farm, they went missing," she told him tightly, "are you going to help me or not?"

Oliver stared at her for a moment. "What's this piece of equipment you want me to steal?" he asked, his own voice growing a little distant.

"It's a device, a computer that can hack into the crystal," she said, looking up at him.

"And where is it?" He shook his head a little.

"At the Luthor mansion," she told him, taking a deep breath, "Tess has it."

He blinked a couple of times. "You want me to steal something from _Mercy_?"

She raised her eyebrows at that, "is that a problem?" She asked him as neutrally as she could manage, she had no idea how he was going to react to that because she had no idea where his relationship with the woman was.

A smirk spread across his face. "Why didn't you just say _that_ in the first place?"

Chloe blinked, surprised by his reaction, she could only guess things weren't going too well between them, she had to push away the smirk that was trying to form on her lips too, the woman simply wasn't good enough for Oliver, "think you can get it?"

"If she has it, I can get it," he said without a hint of doubt, still smirking. "Just tell me what it looks like."

"Like a metal stand," she told him, relaxing a little, "the crystal fits in the center of it, it should be in the study."

Oliver gazed at her, nodding a little. "All right. Feel like playing the little angel in my ear?" He smiled faintly.

Chloe blinked a couple of times at the offer, considering she hadn't spoken with him in weeks, this was the last thing she'd expected, "sure," she told him, holding her breath as she searched his face.

"I wasn't avoiding your calls," he said softly, shaking his head. "I wouldn't do that to you."

She took a deep breath and nodded a little as she looked at him, "you don't owe me any explanations."

"Yeah, I do. Because we're friends. Right?" A hint of uncertainty flickered over his features.

Her chest tightened at that and she nodded, "right," she adjusted her bag over her shoulder, "I should get back to Isis and get everything together for the mission, let me know when you're ready to go in."

"Okay." His voice was quiet. "I'll see you soon."

"See you later," she told him, trying for a smile before turning around and heading out quickly.

Oliver watched her go, his own chest suddenly feeling tight. It seemed like when it came to Chloe Sullivan, he just couldn't get anything right anymore.

* * *

Hours later, he made his way into Isis with the small metallic-like stand. His hair was messier than usual from the wind and the ride back to Metropolis on his bike and he raked a hand through it as he made his way up to Chloe's office, stopping long enough to change out of his Green Arrow uniform. "Got it."

Chloe took a deep breath and looked at the stand, nodding then walking over to her purse and picking up the crystal, "okay, you can put it over here," she told him, motioning to the table in the main room.

He drew in a breath and moved over to the table, setting it down as she'd instructed and raising his eyebrows.

"Thank you," she told him, walking over to the stand and looking down at it for a moment then placing the crystal in the center, "stand back."

He looked at her skeptically. "How is this going to work? They're not hooked up to anything, Chloe."

"It doesn't need electricity, Oliver, it's Kryptonian technology," she told him, focusing on the crystal for a moment then taking a deep breath and raising her hand over the stand.

Oliver stared at her for a moment, his eyes widening just a little as the crystal actually _lit up_. "Whoa, okay, what the hell?"

Chloe sighed and dropped her hand, "I said stand back, Oliver," she told him again, she had to focus.

"Look, I have a bad feeling about this, Chloe."

"Do I tell you how to shoot your arrows?" She demanded, arching an eyebrow, "I don't think so. I know what I'm doing, so just keep your distance." She said again, irritated then took a deep breath and lifted her hand over the crystal again.

His jaw tightened and he stood back a little, watching her intently for a moment and then looking down at the glowing crystal.

Chloe watched as the crystal started spinning in the stand and closed her eyes for a moment as she started to download all the information from it, she couldn't feel her body anymore, but she was acutely aware of her surroundings.

Oliver's eyes widened a little as light began to glow around Chloe herself. Blindingly white light. His stomach turned and he shook his head. "Chloe?"

She opened her eyes again, but didn't see the room, just the information, all she saw was the inside of the crystal as she made her way through everything it contained and the way to bring them back.

He inhaled sharply at the sight of blood trickling down her nose. _Screw this._ Clark and Lois could find some other way back. "Okay, Chloe? We're _done_ here," he said firmly, reaching out to grab her arm.

Chloe couldn't see her surroundings but she felt Oliver trying to pull her away and lifting her other hand, she pushed him away, nothing could get in the way of bringing Kal-El back.

He didn't even have time to register surprise as he suddenly went flying through the air, landing in a heap in the other room and whacking his head hard on the floor.

And then everything went black.

* * *

Clark and Kara had made it back safely, and it wasn't until they walked out that Chloe noticed Oliver, laying unconscious in the next room. Her eyes widened and she rushed to his side, checking on his pulse, "Oliver?" she called urgently.

He groaned a little, slowly opening his eyes and blinking at the bright light. He winced immediately and shut them again.

She winced and placed a hand under his head, trying to pull him up from the floor, "are you okay?"

Oliver rubbed hand over his face as he sat up slowly, grimacing. "Yeah. I think so."

Chloe pursed her lips together and watched him. "I'll go get you some ice," she said quietly, getting up.

"Thanks," he mumbled, watching her go, frowning deeply. He glanced around, then slowly rose to his feet, letting out a breath. _How the hell did she manage to throw me across the room?_ he wondered, feeling like he'd somehow missed something extremely important. For that matter, he wondered how she'd managed to manipulate that crystal into working with nothing but apparently her brain power.

She came back a moment later with some ice wrapped in a towel and handed it to him, "you should probably sit down." She told him, feeling guilty.

"Maybe you should, too," he suggested, taking the ice from her and placing it against his head.

Pursing her lips together, she looked at him and shook her head, "I'm okay, do you need anything else?"

 _Yeah_ , he thought, gazing at her intently. _An explanation._

* * *

The second Clark walked into the farm, he sensed someone inside, more like he could hear the heartbeat that he knew didn't belong to Shelby or Lois. As he walked further into the room and looked to his left, he saw Oliver sitting there, in his dad's old armchair and simply raised an eyebrow.

"Welcome to earth," he deadpanned, raising his own eyebrows.

Clark took a deep breath and nodded, walking over to the couch, "Chloe told me if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be back, so thank you."

He was silent for a moment. "All I did was steal the metal-stand thing. She did the rest." He watched Clark for a moment, leaning forward in the chair.

At that, Clark frowned a little, questioning.

Oliver rose to his feet. "She literally held her hand over the crystal and this bright light appeared, and then it was all around her. She wasn't _touching_ anything. It was like she was using the powers of her mind to somehow will you out of wherever the hell you were." He stared at him hard. "And then she started _bleeding._ When I tried to stop her? She--one handed, mind you--tossed me across the room like I was a pillow." His jaw tightened. "So what the hell happened to her?"

Clark blinked, he stared at Oliver for a moment then sighed, shaking his head and looking down, "Chloe has been infected by Braniac, it gave her some kind of power."

"And what are you doing to fix it?" he asked shortly.

"Everything I can," Clark said, looking at Oliver and frowning worriedly, "but Chloe won't talk to me about it, she won't let me help."

"Make her let you help, Clark." He stared at the other man. "This stuff is dangerous. She could get hurt, or _worse_. Find a way to fix it and don't let her tell you no."

"You think it's easy, Oliver? Chloe is stubborn, if she doesn't want something, I can't make her do it."

"Are you even listening?" Oliver shook his head. "We're talking about her _life_."

"Do you think _I_ want Chloe to get hurt? She's my best friend, Oliver. But I can't force her to do anything, I'm worried about her too, but she says she's fine." Clark argued.

"She's _not_ fine!" He raised his voice. "Try harder. Try as if this was _Lana's_ life we were talking about and not Chloe's." His jaw tightened and he turned and headed toward the door.

Clark's jaw tightened too as he stared at Oliver, "if you're so worried, what are _you_ doing about it?"

He turned to face the other man. "I'm going to talk to her right now," he informed him. "But let me tell you this. If anything happens to her because of this? Because you've sat around and done nothing? I'm holding _you_ responsible. Because this is your alien mess to begin with." His voice was harsh. He didn't give Clark a chance to retort before he turned and stormed out of the house.

* * *

"This is all I found on the orphanages you stayed in when you were a child," she told Davis quietly, opening the folder over the desk in Isis' main room and looking up at his face as he went over, "there is no record of anything before the age of three," she said, eyes still on his face.

"That's not normal," he murmured, looking at the folder intently. "Is it?"

She pursed her lips and shook her head slightly, "unless your mom just never went to a hospital, or used a fake name when she did? I mean, it's possible."

"Maybe," Davis said quietly, still staring at the paperwork she'd found. "Thank you for looking into this."

"No problem," she said sincerely, "I will see if I can find anything else, take your time going over it and if you see something that looks like a clue, tell me and I'll look into it."

He nodded a little, glancing at her and meeting her eyes instantly.

Chloe stared up at him, searching his eyes, her body going numb. Like every time he was close, she wasn't in control of herself anymore. Pursing her lips together, she reached up and cupped his cheek, finding herself unable to blink or look away.

Davis' eyes darkened just a little and he shifted closer to her, pulling her against him and kissing her.

She kissed him back instantly, closing her eyes tightly as she tried her best to ignore the images that flashed through her head. The Kryptonian symbols started appearing more and more often since she hacked the crystal, but she had to ignore them, she couldn't stop them and she knew it. So she wrapped her arms around Davis and shifted closer to him, trying her hardest to focus on kissing him instead.

Oliver was tense as he made his way up the stairs toward Chloe's office. He had a feeling this wasn't going to be a pleasant conversation. He just hoped she didn't end up hating him. He rounded the corner and stepped inside, freezing in place when he caught sight of her in a passionate embrace with Davis Bloome.

Chloe didn't hear anything at all, she didn't hear the door opening, or the footsteps, she didn't feel Oliver's gaze on her or an extra presence in the room until Davis pulled away from her. Her eyes widened when she saw Oliver standing there, apparently shocked by what he had walked in on.

"Oliver," she said, taking a deep breath and blinking a couple of times as she tried to clear her mind once Davis took a step back, putting some distance between them.

"Didn't mean to interrupt." His voice was completely neutral, no hint of what he was thinking available in his tone or his expression.

"I should go," Davis said awkwardly, glancing at Oliver then looking back down at Chloe, his expression softening instantly, "my shift starts in fifteen minutes, call you tomorrow morning when it's over?" He offered.

She nodded a little, looking up at him, "I'll talk to you soon."

Oliver stepped out of the way to let Davis pass him, not looking at the other man.

Davis leaned in and kissed Chloe's cheek, gazing at her for a moment longer before starting to the door, "Oliver, glad to see you are well," he said as he walked by him and out of the building.

He simply nodded and let the man pass, muttering a quiet 'thanks' in return.

Chloe watched the interaction then took a deep breath, running her fingers through her hair and looking down before looking back at Oliver, "is something wrong?" She asked, even though she had a pretty good idea of what this was all about.

"Apparently." He lifted his head to look at her, his expression still neutral.

She watched him for a moment and cocked her head, trying to read him but not being able to, which wasn't good, "are you going to tell me what it is or is this a guessing game?"

"Tell me about Brainiac," he said, his voice quiet.

Arching her eyebrows, she stared at him for a second then turned around and started to gather the papers over the desk, "you should ask Clark, he's the specialist in Kryptonian history."

"And you're the one infected by it," Oliver responded, watching her intently.

Chloe's jaw clenched and she turned around to face him once more, "he attacked me, Oliver and the only reason I'm not in a coma right now is that my power protected me."

"And what's it doing to you now, Chloe?" he asked, moving farther into her office. "Do you even _know_?"

"It gave me the ability to absolve information at the speed of light," she said sharply, "it has given me a way to research faster than anyone, it has helped me save _your_ life when you were poisoned, that's what it's doing to me, Oliver."

"That's not what I asked." His voice dropped. "I'm not asking how it's benefit anyone else, Chloe. Do you know what happened today?"

"Yes, I know," she told him, "I told you to stand back. You should have listened to me," she said blankly.

His jaw tightened. "You were _bleeding_ ," he said, shaking his head and moving so he was right in front of her.

"It was a nose bleed, Oliver! It's nothing." She told him, staring up at him, her jaw tight.

"You don't know that," he said sharply, staring back at her.

"Yes, I do." She said just as sharply, stepping right up to him and staring up at him blankly, she felt like she wasn't in full control of herself once more, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it was when she was around Davis, "stop trying to get in the way of everything, Oliver, there isn't a problem here, this power is a _good_ thing."

"Yeah? Was it a good thing when you tossed me across the room with one hand and knocked me unconscious?" he asked darkly.

"I _told_ you to stay _out_ of _my_ way." She told him tightly, her jaw tensing, her eyes darkening.

"Excuse me for being worried about my friend who was somehow hacking into alien technology with the wave of her _hand_ ," he retorted, glaring at her. "You are not yourself, Chloe."

Chloe smirked at that and arched an eyebrow, "and you say that because you know me so well all of the sudden?"

He stared at her. "We've worked pretty closely on several occasions. I know how you work. And maybe I don't know you as well as _Clark_ , but I'm not stupid and I'm not blind, either."

"I beg to differ," Chloe said sharply, "this is incredibly stupid, especially when I've told you _several_ times, not to try and stand in my way," she said angrily, "so why don't you take the hint, Oliver, and leave me alone?"

Oliver flinched as if she'd hit him. "Forget it," he said harshly, moving his face close to hers. "You might be able to talk Clark out of trying to help you, but I swear that I will figure out what the hell is going on and find a way to fix it." His jaw tight, he turned and stormed out of the office.

"Good luck," she murmured, a smirk slowly appearing on her face.


	7. Chapter 7

It was just past seven as she walked back to Isis to finish up some work and go back to Smallville for the night. She had met Lois for dinner outside of the Planet and she was exhausted but looking forward for some time to herself that night. She had spent the last two nights at Davis' and although she wasn't even sure when they had gone from casual flirting to well, bed, it wasn't bad. It was almost like she was getting addicted to the numbness that it came with being around him, when she was with him, it was like the rest of the world didn't exist, that nothing else mattered, half of the time these days, she couldn't remember what she had been doing before she met him and while it was overwhelming to think about it, it was... freeing, in a way.

She heard her phone going off in her purse and reached for it, smiling a little when she saw the text from Davis himself saying he would miss her tonight. With a deep breath, she started to reply and a second later, she bumped right into someone, which caused her phone to go flying to the floor.

Oliver instantly reached out, steadying her with his hands on her shoulders before he even realized who he'd run into. Then realization flickered over his face and he pulled away, his expression going blank. "Chloe."

"Sorry," she started then paused, looking up at him, a smile instantly appearing on her face, "Oliver? Figures of everyone I could run into, it would be into one of my favorite heroes."

He blinked at that, his eyebrows furrowing. "...what?"

"I haven't seen you in a while," she told him, bending down and picking up her phone, brushing it with her fingers to make sure it was still intact, "it figures I would just run into you, literally this time."

Oliver stared at her for a moment. "Are you feeling all right?"

"Like I'm about to slip into a food coma," she teased, but smiled, "I just had dinner with Lois, are you okay?"

He paused, searching her eyes and seeing nothing there but warmth and a hint of confusion. "You wanna come in?" he asked, nodding toward his building.

Chloe blinked a couple of times but nodded, smiling softly, maybe he needed some privacy to talk about whatever was bothering him and although she wanted her alone time, she couldn't deny him that, "sure," she told him quietly, looking up at him.

Oliver held her gaze for a moment, then held his hand out to her silently.

She looked down at his hand, even more confused now but with a deep breath, she reached out and took his hand before smiling a little at him, trying to reassure him.

The moment she slid her hand into his, he knew something was wrong. _Very_ wrong. Swallowing hard, he led her inside.

As they made their way inside, Chloe started to remember the first time she'd walked into the Clocktower and as they walked into the elevator, her heard started to hurt. She blinked a couple of times and rubbed her free hand over her eyes, frowning.

He looked at her, his eyes growing more worried. "Chloe? Are you all right?"

"Yeah," she whispered, rubbing her face then looking up at him, "mind if I borrow some of your advil?"

Oliver felt his chest tighten. "Headache?" he asked, forgetting briefly about their rather heated argument a few days before as he shifted closer to her.

"Yeah," she said quietly, opening her eyes for a second and looking up at him, focusing on his face for a moment as her eyes widened, the symbols started to flash in front of her eyes even though she was still seeing him as well as the memory of them waking up in her bed at the talon not long ago and she knew it was happening, "no," she whispered taking a deep breath and closing her eyes tightly.

"Chloe? What is it?" he asked, reaching out and gently placing a hand on her arm. "What's going on?"

She swallowed and shook her head, "I just, I need to focus, okay?" She breathed, her eyes wide and teary, "I can't forget you," she told him, a pained tone in her voice.

His eyebrows furrowed. "Forget me? What are you talking about?" he whispered, reaching up to touch her cheek instinctively.

Chloe took a deep breath and blinked a couple or times, relaxing a little as her head stopped hurting as much, "I can't think about you, I need to focus." She looked over at the door as it opened and instinctively reached for the gates, opening them and stepping inside the penthouse, but the second she did, she was bombarded with memories.

_"We trust each other, Clark tells me everything." She told him, shifting on her feet and cocking her head to the side, "well, almost everything, I did have to figure out about your green leather fetish on my lonesome." At the look on Oliver's face, she smiled and held her hands up, "don't worry, I didn't say anything to Lois, although, you might wanna consider..."_

Oliver's eyes widened as he watched her sway dangerously on her feet and then watched with horror as her eyes rolled back into her head. He moved quickly, catching her before she could hit the ground. "Chloe? Chloe!"

She blinked a couple of times, her eyes widening instantly as she opened them, "Oliver?" She said, shaking her head as she looked around, "where are we?"

He stared at her for a moment, then picked her up, carrying her over to his sofa. "Lie down," he said quietly. "I'm going to call Dr. Hamilton."

She stared up at him, blinking a few times before sitting up, wincing as the symbol appeared again, "no, don't."

"You just _fainted_. I'm calling a doctor." His voice was firm, but not mean. He gently brushed some hair out of her face and moved to get his phone.

"It doesn't matter, Oliver," she told him, sitting up, her eyes wide but her expression was blank otherwise, "it's Braniac."

He whipped around to face her. "What?"

Chloe pursed her lips together and stood up, looking at him, trying hard not to think about any of the times they'd spoken before, "I think he's deleting my memories, to make room for Kryptonian data," she told him quietly. "I should know this place, shouldn't I?"

Oliver stared at her with wide eyes. "Yes," he whispered, swallowing hard and moving to her side once again. 

She nodded, taking a deep breath and looking around for a moment then back at him, "I don't remember being here before."

His chest was painfully tight as he met her eyes. He stepped forward and hugged her tightly. "I'm calling Clark." 

Chloe wrapped her arms around him and hugged him just as tightly as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then stilled as another memory started to make it's way through her brain, "I'm sorry," she whispered to him, wincing as her head started pounding once more.

His arms tightened around her briefly and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Sit," he whispered, guiding her to the sofa once more and moving to grab his phone.

She winced again and lifted both hands to her head, rubbing her temple and closing her eyes tightly.

_"Oliver, this is too much, you didn't have to," she told him, smiling at all the gifts he'd gotten her, they had known each other for a while, but they weren't exactly close, she had just started working with him again as Watchtower and here he was, showering her with gifts on her birthday._

_She looked down at the basket with all kinds of gourmet coffee, at the brand new laptop and then down at the bracelet she still had in her hands and without warning, pulled him into a hug, "thank you."_

_He smiled, as well, hugging her back tightly for a moment. "You're welcome," he told her._

_Chloe was surprised but hugged him tightly back before pulling away a moment later, "you really didn't have to," she said sincerely, looking up at him._

_"I know. I wanted to," he admitted, gazing at her with a soft smile._

_She looked at him for a moment longer then held the bracelet out to him, waiting until he took it from her before holding out her wrist silently._

_His expression softened a little and he carefully draped the silver around her wrist and fastened the clasp in place._

_"It's beautiful," she told him quietly, watching him then looking down at the bracelet, "not that it's surprising that you have good taste in jewelry," she teased._

_Oliver grinned. "Well, it seemed like something you'd like."_

_"I did like--" she paused, frowning and looked down at the table, watching as the coffee basket disappeared, then the laptop. She blinked, "Oliver? What is happening?" She asked, scared, but he just stood there, still smiling at her, "Oliver, something is wrong," she told him, her eyes widening as he started to vanish too._

_Desperate, she reached for his hand, "Oliver, no!" She pleaded, her vision clouded by the symbols when, all of the sudden, the entire room was black and she was standing there, in a void, she looked down and cupped the bracelet in her hand, just to watch it disappear a moment later._

He'd just hung up the phone after leaving a message on Clark's voicemail, telling him to get his ass to the clocktower immediately when he turned and caught sight of Chloe clutching her head in her hands like she was in a great deal of pain. 

He quickly moved to her side, resting a hand on her back. "Chloe?"

She stilled and looked up at him, then stood up instantly, her eyes wide, "who are you?"

Oliver's chest tightened at the sudden uncertainty, the fear in her eyes. He held his hands up. "Oliver Queen," he whispered. "I'm a friend."

Chloe shook her head, staring at him, "where am I?"

"This is where I live," he told her gently, keeping his distance. "Do you remember Clark Kent?"

Her jaw clenched at that, "how do you know Clark?" She asked, eyes narrowing.

"He's a mutual friend," he said, swallowing hard. "I just called him. He'll be here shortly, okay?"

Chloe stared at him for a moment and nodded, watching him suspiciously as she took a couple of steps back.

"I won't come any closer," Oliver said softly.

"How long will it take him?" She asked, eyes narrowing. 

"I'm not sure," he said truthfully. "I had to leave him a voicemail."

She took a deep breath and nodded at that, "can I have some water?"

Oliver watched her intently. "Will you promise me you're not going to take off if I go into the kitchen?"

Chloe stared at him for a moment then nodded slowly, watching him closely. 

He hesitated. "All right. Do you want a bottle of water or a glass with ice?"

"Bottle, please," she said politely, staring at him blankly.

"Sure," he whispered, nodding and turning to head into the kitchen, heading for the fridge.

The second he turned his back on her Chloe bolted for the elevator, closing the gate she'd seen there quickly then pressing the button for the bottom floor. 

"Chloe!" He stepped back into the room, holding the bottle, his eyes wide with fear. "Wait!"

She stepped back, further into the elevator and stared at him, her expression blank once more as the elevator started to descend. "Dammit," he whispered as she vanished from view. He grabbed his phone once more, pressing it to his ear after he speed-dialed Clark again.

Clark actually picked up this time, he hadn't heard from Oliver since he came over to blame him for what was happening to Chloe and for him to call twice in a row, it must be important, "hello?"

"You need to get to the clocktower, now. It's Chloe."

A second later, Clark was standing in front of him, "what happened?"

"I don't know what's going on. She said something about Brainiac erasing her memories to make room for Kryptonian data," he said urgently, too freaked out and worried to be angry at the moment. "She literally forgot who I was when I was standing right in front of her, Clark."

Clark's eyes widened, "where is she?"

"She just left a couple seconds ago, in the elevator. Hurry."

Nodding, Clark barely looked at Oliver before taking off again, he sped over to one corner and when he didn't find her, he ran over to the other side, stopping in front of her when he found her, "Chloe." He said, relieved.

Chloe blinked and looked up at him, her eyes widening for a moment and then, without hesitating, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him.

He hugged her back. "What's happening?" he asked, pulling away from her after a moment and looking at her with worried eyes.

"I don't know," she said urgently, shaking her head, "there was this guy, I think I was in his apartment, he said he knew you."

"Oliver," he said, nodding and watching her carefully.

"You know him," she breathed, still keeping her eyes on him.

"He's a friend," Clark said gently, cupping her cheek with one hand.

She took a deep breath and relaxed a little, "I didn't know where I was."

"I know. He told me. He said something about Brainiac." He gazed at her. "What's going on, Chloe?"

"I can't remember things," she told him quietly, "it's been getting worse." 

Clark swallowed hard. "We need to figure out how to stop it."

Chloe took a deep breath and shook her head a little, her expression a mix of terrified and resigned, "I don't think we can." 

He tensed a little. "No, I don't accept that, Chloe."

She shook her head a little, "I don't even know how many people I've forgotten already, Clark, I ran into... into my ex-boyfriend, I think when I was having dinner with my cousin and I have no idea who he is." 

"There has to be a way to reverse it. I'll go to the Fortress, to talk to Jor-El."

"Okay," she said quietly, nodding, "I'll go back to Isis."

Clark nodded. "I'll meet you there as soon as I'm back." He vanished.

* * *

She knew she was making her way somewhere, but she couldn't remember where, so she stopped walking, her head hurting once more, she grabbed it, closing her eyes tightly and leaning against the wall and then it was all gone, all she could remember was one person. She looked around the street for a moment and let instinct guide her, it wasn't until she was standing outside the hospital that she remembered he was a paramedic.

Chloe looked around the emergency entrance for a second and then she saw him, her eyes widening for a moment, "Davis!" She called, panic clear in her voice as she ran across the lot, to where he was. 

"Chloe?" Davis turned at the sound of her voice, his eyebrows furrowing.

She wrapped her arms around his neck as soon as she was close enough to, clinging to him, "you're everything I can remember."

He held her tightly, rubbing her back soothingly. "Hey, it's okay. I'm right here." .

"I didn't know where I was," she told him, pulling back to look at him, "I just... walked until I could find you."

Davis gazed at her intently, then kissed her mouth. "Well, you found me."

Chloe let out a deep, shaky breath and kissed him back, relaxing a little, "I can't remember anything."

"Except for me?" He cocked his head to the side.

She pursed her lips together and nodded, "I don't know who my parents are, or where I live or if I even have any family, I just remember knowing you."

He frowned at that, gazing at her intently. "All right, let's...go to Isis. We'll figure this out. Okay?" He kissed her again softly.

"What is Isis?" She whispered after returning the kiss, lifting a hand to touch his face gently. 

There was worry in his eyes as he gazed at her. "It's where you work," he told her.

"Will there be anyone there?" She asked, worried. 

"It's after hours," he assured her. "We should have the place to ourselves. Maybe we can do some research and try to figure out what's going on."

Chloe nodded, letting out a breath and reaching for his hand, "okay," she agreed, the terrified look back on her face. 

"It's okay, Chloe," he whispered. "We'll figure it out. I won't leave your side." He took her hand in his.

She pursed her lips together and nodded, looking up at him for a moment then squeezing his hand softly, he was the only one she could trust, that much she was sure of.

* * * 

Oliver stood in the middle of Chloe's secret room in her office, stunned as he looked around to see pictures of himself, of Clark, of the entire _team_ posted around the walls, along with factsheets about all of them. There was one for Lois, one for Lana, one for Jimmy Olsen. Everyone that Chloe knew was posted around, and he swallowed hard as he realized what _that_ meant. She'd been slowly losing her memories for awhile now, and hadn't said a word. 

"Dammit, Chloe," he whispered, his chest tight.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Chloe asked quietly, her hand still clenched around Davis' as they walked inside the building, her heart beating fast, this didn't feel right, but then, nothing did at the moment.

"Yeah, it's fine," Davis assured her, leading her into the office.

She squeezed his hand and took a deep breath as they walked inside, then stilled when she saw movement in the next room, "you promised there wouldn't be anyone in here."

He tensed, reaching out and picking up a letter opener that was lying on her desk. "There isn't supposed to be. Stay here."

Chloe stilled, pursing her lips together and nodding slightly.

Oliver heard the sound of footsteps and he turned quickly, his eyes narrowing when he spotted Davis.

Davis' eyes narrowed back at him, "what are you doing here?" He asked, looking around the room, "what is all this?"

He moved forward, blocking the other man's view. "I'm here looking for Chloe," he said, ignoring the other question.

"You need to leave," Davis said tightly, "she doesn't want to be around anyone right now."

"Davis?" Chloe called when she heard voices and walked further into the room, "what is going on?"

"And she wants to be around _you_?" he responded dubiously.

"She knows me," Davis told him, staring at him for a moment then looking over his shoulder when Chloe appeared, "it's okay, he's a friend of yours, he was just leaving."

Chloe's jaw clenched as she stared at the other man then moved to Davis' side carefully and took his hand in hers again.

Oliver's gaze immediately shifted from Davis to Chloe, his entire body tense. Everything about this entire situation was wrong, and it made no sense that she somehow remembered Davis of all people. Not when she'd only known him for a few months. "I'm not going anywhere," he said quietly.

"You promised no one would be here," Chloe said tensely, taking a step back and watching Oliver warily.

"I'm sorry, Chloe, I didn't know he was going to be here," Davis said sincerely, cupping her cheek in his free hand as he tried to catch her eye.

A second later, Clark walked into the office, "Chloe?" He called.

"In here, Clark," Oliver called, keeping his eyes on her.

Chloe's eyes widened even more as she turned around to look over her shoulder, shifting closer to Davis, half hiding behind him as she looked at Clark.

Clark's face fell as he stepped closer, "Chloe, it's okay."

"She doesn't remember anyone but him," Oliver told him, glancing at Davis warily.

"Okay, the two of you just _back off_ ," Davis ordered. "We'll figure out what's going on without your help."

"I already figured out and there is only one person who can help her," Clark told Davis, stepping forward, "I need to take her to him," he said, glancing at Oliver and holding his gaze for a moment.

"I'm not going anywhere with _you_!" Chloe said, backing away. 

Oliver steadied her instinctively as she backed right into him. "Everything's going to be okay," he whispered.

She turned around to face him, her eyes wide with fear as she stared up at him.

His eyes were filled with warmth, with worry as he gazed back at her. "I promise."

Chloe stared at him and shook her head then took a step back.

Davis took a deep breath and without hesitating, pulled out a syringe from his uniform's pocket and punctured Chloe in the neck a second later. Oliver quickly caught her as she began to sink to the floor. He swallowed hard, staring at Davis in shock.

Davis blew out a breath and looked down at Chloe, shaking his head, "she has full on amnesia, leaving her conscious will only make her situation worse."

Clark stepped forward and took Chloe from Oliver, "I'll get her help."

He held his breath as he watched the other man heading out of the office, and then he shifted his gaze to Davis silently.

Davis stared at Clark then at Oliver, his jaw tight, "where is he taking her?

Oliver stared back at him, just as tense. "To someone who can help."

" _Who_?" He demanded, stepping forward, "that's my girlfriend, Oliver and if she wakes up and I'm not with her, she will freak out, where is this place?"  
He narrowed his eyes. "She'll be fine," he responded evenly, not intimidated. Sure, Davis was about his size, but there was little doubt in his mind if push came to shove, Oliver could take the guy. "You're just going to have to take my word on that."

"You're a waste of time," he told Oliver before turning around and walking out of the office.

Oliver relaxed a little as the guy stormed out. Then he drew in a breath and let it out slowly, closing up the secret office as his chest tightened. 

He just hoped he was right.

* * * 

Oliver stood on the doorstep to the Talon apartment hours later, holding his breath. Clark had sent him a text telling him that Chloe was back, that she was fine, and when he'd tried to call the other man, he hadn't answered. Needing to check for himself, he'd made the nearly three hour drive in two hours. He raised his hand and knocked lightly, his stomach tight with anxiety.

"Come in," Chloe called, looking over her shoulder from where she stood by the coffee maker.

He turned the doorknob and stepped inside, glancing over at her and smiling a little. "Hey," he said hesitantly. "How are you feeling?"

"A lot less confused," she told him, smiling softly, "sorry about the freak out."

"It's okay," he assured her, relaxing and smiling back at her. "So it's...everything's okay now?"

"Yeah, I know my name and everything," she told him quietly, "and I would offer you coffee, but I also know you don't like it. Do you want some tea?"

Oliver shook his head a little. "No, I'm good. I'm just...I'm glad you're okay," he said sincerely, gazing at her. "It scared me." His voice grew quieter.

Her face softened and she nodded a little, "I know, I'm sorry, Ollie..." she told him quietly, but sincerely as she took a step forward.

He let out a breath, moving closer to her, as well. "It's not your fault."

She pursed her lips together and nodded, smiling a little, "next time I get amnesia, at least you know what works."

"Let's not have a next time." He chuckled softly despite how serious he was. He moved closer and wrapped his arms around her.

Chloe pursed her lips together and nodded slightly, wrapping her arms around him and returning the hug, "I agree."

He kissed her temple, closing his eyes and relaxing the rest of the way.

She blinked a couple of times at the affectionate gesture but let out her breath and relaxed, just brushing it off. She remembered just how worried about her he'd been and how incredibly awful she'd been to him. 

Oliver pulled away after a long moment, gazing at her and smiling faintly. "If you need to take some time off, it's okay," he told her.

Chloe paused at that and blinked, cocking her head a little, "hm, thanks? But considering I got fired from my last job, I don't think that will be an issue."

He chuckled involuntarily. "Don't worry, I'm not going to fire you. I wouldn't do that."

She stared at him for a moment, her face falling, "I work for you?" She asked, her heart beating faster.

His smile slipped, too and he held his breath, gazing back at her. "Well, _with_ me, really." His own heart began to beat quickly.

Pursing her lips together, she shook her head a little, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Oliver swallowed hard. "Oh," he whispered.

Chloe's eyes widened as she stared at him, "what am I missing?" She asked quietly.

"What do you know about me?" he asked just as quietly.

She frowned a little at the question, "charming, playboy, used to go out with my cousin but that didn't really work out. You two are still friends though and that's how we became friends."

Oliver felt his chest tighten. "That's all you remember?" he asked carefully. "Nothing else?"

"You have a bank account bigger than all the money Smallville has in it's bank combined?" She added, "Oliver, what is it?" She asked, worriedly.

He tried to smile but didn't quite manage it. "Can I get back to you on that?" he asked softly. "I just remembered an important meeting I'm going to be late for."

Her chest tightened and her face fell, she didn't believe him at all, but she nodded a little, "yeah," she whispered.

"I'll come back." He hesitated. "If you want me to."

Chloe nodded a little again, looking up at him, "please?"

"I will," he promised, placing his hand on her arm for a moment and then heading for the door. 

He needed to find Clark Kent.

* * *

Clark was working at the barn when he heard someone driving up to the house, he frowned and took off his gloves, not that he needed them but he had the habit of using them, besides, it was good to keep up appearances. He walked outside and frowned when he saw Oliver getting out of the car, a worried expression on his face. 

"Hey." Oliver walked toward him, his heart still beating faster than usual. "I thought you said she was better?"

He frowned at that and nodded, "she was when I left her, is something wrong?"

"She doesn't remember me." He shook his head. "Or the team or that she's working with us."

Clark stilled at that, his face falling, "oh."

"We need to take her back to your ice castle." He shook his head.

"No, Oliver," Clark took a deep breath, "when Jor-El restored her memories, I asked him if he could erase everything that had to do with my secret and Krypton," he shook his head a little, "I guess my secret is too connected with yours and that got erased too."

Oliver stared at him. "You did _what?_ "

"I had to do something to protect her," Clark said, his shoulders hunching, "I couldn't watch her get hurt anymore because of me."

"To protect her?" he echoed, still staring, wide-eyed.

"She has gotten hurt enough trying to protect my secret," He said defensively. 

"Clark, just being around you, she's in danger," he said, shaking his head. "She has a right to know _why_!"

"You were the one who said I should do something about it, Oliver!" Clark defended himself, "I did!"

"I didn't tell you to erase half her mind!" Oliver said heatedly.

Clark's eyes narrowed, "I did what I thought was best for her, she is safer without knowing my secret, if you want to tell her yours, that's your choice but I want her to be happy, Oliver, not have to sacrifice her life because of who _we_ are." He said evenly.

He stared at Clark. "You don't get to decide what's best for people, Clark," he said harshly. "You're not _God_. What gives you the _right_ to decide what memories Chloe or any of us gets to have?" Shaking his head, he turned and headed back toward his car.

"I'm protecting her, Oliver! You're too selfish to understand this." He called after him, his jaw tight.

Oliver whipped around to glare at him. "No, _you're_ the selfish one, Clark," he responded evenly. "Maybe it's just become too _inconvenient_ for you to worry about Chloe anymore. I mean, what, with Lana missing and all, I'm sure you'd rather focus your time trying to find her, right?" His jaw was tight. "Stay away from me, Kent. And the next time you need help getting your ass out of trouble? Find someone else."

"Do you think this was an easy decision for me, Oliver?" Clark asked, shaking his head, "Chloe is my best friend! She's known my secret for years and she's the first person since my parents who really helped me accept myself for what I am. I'm giving up a lot to keep her _safe_ , this isn't about _me_!"

"Tell yourself that enough times and you might actually start to believe it," he said flatly. "We're done here." He stormed away.


	8. Chapter 8

  


Chloe looked up from the phone that she still had in her hands when there was a knock on the door, she had just called Davis and asked him to come over. She wasn't sure if anyone had told him she was okay, so she figured she'd better call and she had been right about her suspicious. Davis had been incredibly worried, so she told him he could come over, an offer he'd taken right away.

But she knew she hadn't made the call that long ago, definitely not more than two hours ago, which was the minimum time to drive from Metropolis if you moved as fast as possible, no one could make it faster than that so the knock had to be from Oliver or Clark.

She took a deep breath and placed the phone on the coffee table, her eyes on the door, "come in," she called, her stomach had been tight since Oliver left, so she was hoping it would be him, back with some answers.

Oliver stepped inside silently, his body still tense from his confrontation with Clark. He glanced around until his gaze landed on her and he held his breath for a moment. "Hi."

Frowning a little at his expression, she stood up, "what's wrong?"

He held her gaze, forcing himself to take a deep breath. "I'm having a little bit of a dilemma," he said very quietly.

"Can I help?" She asked quietly, searching his eyes.

"I hope so." Oliver took a couple steps toward her, his hands in his pockets. "See uh...there are some things that you knew. Things that we did that..." His voice trailed off and he looked away, his chest tight. "And I know you don't remember them. The thing is, this stuff was dangerous." He knew he was rambling and he rubbed his hands over his face, suddenly feeling tired. "And part of me wonders if you'd be better off _not_ remembering."

Chloe blinked a couple of times, staring at him for a moment, "was I able to handle knowing it before?" She asked, confused.

He turned his head to look at her once more. "Yes," he said without hesitation.

"Is that the only thing I don't remember?" She asked quietly, watching him closely as she searched his face.

"No," he admitted softly, honestly. "But the rest...it isn't my place to tell you."

Chloe nodded slowly, stepping forward and looking up at him, "what can you tell me?"

Oliver held her gaze, searching her eyes. "Are you sure?" he whispered. "Because once I tell you, there's no going back."

"If I could handle it before, I can handle it now," she told him, holding his gaze, her own intense, "I don't want be in the dark."

He reached out and rested his hand on her arm. "All right. Let's sit down."

She took a deep breath and nodded slightly, looking at him for a moment before moving to the couch and sat down then looked up at him, her eyes wide, "does this have anything to do with why I lost my memory?"

"Yes," he said very softly. "It does."

"Do you think it will happen again when you tell me?" She whispered, pursing her lips together.

Oliver shook his head a little. "No," he said quietly. "But the way you lost your memory...that's part of what isn't my right to tell you." He looked down.

Her chest tightened a little and she nodded then took a deep breath and reached for his hand before looking at his face again, "even if you can't tell me, if it looks like it's going to happen again, can you stop it?" She asked quietly, pleadingly.

He held his breath. "I'll do everything I can to stop it from happening," he whispered, touching her cheek. "You have my word."

She bit down on her bottom lip and nodded a little, she wasn't sure why she trusted him as much as she did but she had the feeling this thing she didn't remember played a big part in it, "thank you," she whispered, her eyes big as she searched his face.

Nodding a little, he reluctantly dropped his hand away. "What do you know about Green Arrow?" he asked, searching her eyes.

Chloe blinked a couple of times, "I've read about him in the papers, he was working with the Blur?" She said quietly.

Oliver gazed at her. "I am Green Arrow," he whispered.

She stilled, her eyes widening as she stared at him, her mouth hanging slightly open, "you are?"

He watched her intently. "On a scale of one to a hundred..how freaked out are you?"

Chloe blinked a couple of times and shook her head a little, taking a deep breath as she looked away then back at him, "I didn't... I thought those were just stories, something like vigilantes who dress up to help people and take all that risk, I didn't think it was real."

"It is," he said softly. "And you're a part of it, too."

Her eyes widened at that and she sat up a little, staring at him unblinkingly, "me?"

A faint smile touched his mouth. "Yeah, you," he said, nodding.

"How?" She asked quietly, shaking her head and looking down at herself, "I can't... fight or anything."

"No, not physically like that. You're our eye in the sky," Oliver told her with a small smile. "You guide us through our missions and patrols."

" _Us_?" She asked, searching his face, "you mean you and the Blur?"

"No. I mean, you, me and a handful of others. Impulse, Aquaman, Cyborg and Black Canary."

"Oh," she blinked, confused, "I've never heard of them," she told him quietly, "are they okay with me knowing their secrets?"

He shifted closer to her. "They don't even know you lost your memory. So to them, you still know their secrets."

Chloe pursed her lips and smiled a little, looking up at him, "thank you for trusting me with it, twice, apparently."

A faint smile touched his mouth. "Actually, the first time around, you figured it all out by yourself."

She blinked, raising her eyebrows and cocking her head, "I did? How?"

"Because you're the most incredibly smart woman I've ever met," he informed her.

Her eyes widened a little and her cheeks felt warm, she smiled and looked down, shaking her head a little.

Oliver swallowed hard. "You're also one of the bravest," he whispered.

Chloe looked at him out of the corner of her eyes and tried for a smile, "doesn't feel like it right now," she admitted.

He hesitated a moment, then slid his arms around her. "You are," he murmured quietly.

She stilled for a second then wrapped her arms around him too, closing her eyes and nodding a little, she guessed this was common behavior between them since this was the second time he was hugging her, so she relaxed a moment later. She kind of needed it right now and besides, it felt really... comfortable. Familiar, almost. "I was just so scared when I couldn't remember anything, I guess I'm having a hard time shaking it off, especially now that there are things I still don't remember."

Oliver's arms tightened around her. "It's okay," he murmured, leaning his head against hers. Inwardly, he cursed Clark Kent again. "I'm sorry it was so scary. I can't really imagine it."

"You seemed pretty scared too," she whispered, but didn't pull away from him. If Oliver was willing to trust her with a secret as big as him being Green Arrow, she knew she could trust him too.

"I'd never seen you like that," he admitted. "I was scared."

Chloe paused at that and pulled her head back, looking up at him, searching his eyes as she remained quiet for a moment longer, "what am I like usually?"

Oliver was quiet for a moment, gazing back at her. "Witty. You keep us on our toes." A faint smile twitched his lips. "Some of us more than others. And smart." His chest tightened a little. She'd been the smartest person he'd ever met even before she was infected by a Kryptonian super-computer. "You ran our missions from the clock tower sometimes, and Isis for others." He let out a breath. "You're probably the most trustworthy, loyal friend I've had."

Her chest got progressively tighter as he spoke, her eyes tearing up a little as she listened. That didn't sound like her at all, sure she was smart enough but not like Oliver was saying, she didn't know anything about missions, let alone running them. "I wish I could remember," she whispered quietly as she looked down, "what if I can't be the person you're used to anymore? Because I don't remember anything about something that seems like such a huge part of who I am-- was."

"Chloe," he whispered, lifting his hand to her cheek. "If you want to re-learn that stuff, I'll help you. It won't take long to learn. Not for you. But if you don't want to..." He swallowed hard. "That's okay, too. You're still Chloe. And I happen to like you a hell of a lot."

She turned her head to look at him after a moment and nodded a little, "are you going to tell the others I don't know who they are?" She whispered.

"They're not in town. It's up to you," he said softly.

Chloe shook her head a little, "I don't know, I mean, I don't know them?" She told him, sighing softly in frustration, "I don't know how often I talk to them or how well they know me or how they would react to this."

"I'll fill you in on everything I can, Chloe. All right? Whatever I can tell you, I'm more than happy to help out."

She nodded a little, rubbing a hand over her face, "thank you, I don't mean to get irritated at you," she told him sincerely, "it's just frustrating to try to think of what something was like and not be able to remember it, especially something you supposedly lived through."

"It's all right, Chloe. Don't worry about it. I'm not taking it personally."

Chloe took another deep breath and nodded, looking at him again, "thank you," she said quietly but sincerely.

Oliver leaned in and kissed her forehead without thinking about it, closing his eyes.

She blinked a couple of times then closed her eyes too and wrapped her arms around him once more, hugging him again.

He let out a breath, hugging her back without hesitation. It felt like she was Chloe again, even if she didn't remember everything. And he'd missed her.

Chloe sighed softly and laid her head on his shoulder, relaxing a little. She still wanted to remember, she wanted to know why she was _this_ comfortable with him and why he seemed to feel the same way about her, but for now, she would have to live vicariously through what he could tell her and hope that eventually, it would trigger her memory.

A moment later, there was a knock on the door and Davis opened without waiting for an answer, Chloe was expecting him after all. His eyes were already wide as he walked in, but widened even more when he realized what he's walked in on, "Chloe?"

Oliver tensed a little at the familiar voice, and slowly pulled away from her, gazing at her for a moment before turning to look at Davis silently.

Chloe met Oliver's eyes then pulled her arms away from him too, not bothering to hide the fact that she'd been hugging him. "Hi," she told him quietly, looking up at him.

Davis' eyes narrowed at Oliver then he moved over to Chloe, kneeling down in front of her and kissing her with a certain desperation, "are you okay?"

"I'm okay," Chloe said, blinking as she pulled back, embarrassed.

Oliver's jaw tensed a little at the very obvious display of possessiveness. _Just pee on her, Davis_ , he thought bitterly.

She looked from Davis to Oliver, not liking either one of their expressions and shifted on the couch before standing up and putting some space between herself and Davis, uncomfortable with both the sudden PDA and desperation he seemed to be displaying. She looked over at Oliver and searched his face for a second, "would it be okay if I called you later?" She asked quietly, "I asked Davis to come by, there are some things I need to talk to him about."

"Yeah. Sure." He ignored the sudden tightening of his chest as he rose to his feet, not looking at Davis.

Davis moved to stand up too, his jaw tight as he looked at Oliver and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Thank you," Chloe said, searching Oliver's eyes, feeling the need to reassure him, "for everything."

"It's no problem," he said very quietly, gazing at her intently. "Call if you need anything, okay?"

"I will," she promised, offering him a soft smile, "have a safe drive back."

He nodded a little, smiling very faintly and heading out the door. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," she told him quietly, then waited until Oliver was out of the apartment before turning to face Davis once more.

Davis smiled at her, relaxing a little once Oliver had gone. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," she told him, tensing a little now that she was alone with him. She'd been feeling numb around him, she remembered as much, like she didn't really have control over things, but she wasn't feeling that way now.

"Good," he whispered, moving closer to her and pulling her into his arms. He dipped his head to kiss her.

Chloe returned the kiss, but just for a moment before she pulled away, "Davis, wait," she said quietly.

His eyebrows furrowed a little. "What's wrong, Chloe?"

She pursed her lips together and took a step back before starting to pace, needing to put space between them again, "I think I need some time," she said quietly, "remembering all of this so suddenly, it has been pretty overwhelming," she wasn't lying, she had been fine until Oliver told her she _didn't_ remember everything, but she'd been overwhelmed and unsettled since.

Chloe stopped her pacing and turned to face Davis again, "I need to figure things out."

"Chloe, I'm the only you didn't forget," he pointed out, shaking his head. "Don't you think that means something?" There was a hint of desperation in his voice and he gripped onto her arm without thinking about it.

She blinked, a little surprised by his actions, "I'm not saying it doesn't, Davis," she said quietly, "but I'm confused and like I said, overwhelmed and... I really just need some time, I'm not ending anything, I just need a break to figure myself out."

"How long?" he asked, moving closer to her.

"I don't know, Davis," she said quietly, looking up at him and forcing herself not to step back, "a couple of days? A week? I don't know."

"Can I still call you?" His eyes were a shade darker than normal.

Chloe swallowed, "I... suppose we can check in," she whispered, afraid to tell him no.

He relaxed just a little. But not much. "I'm sorry, but I _need_ you, Chloe," he said softly.

She blinked a couple of times at that and nodded a little, "I just need some time, Davis, we will be okay," she told him, even as she tried to find at least a portion of everything she felt for him before she lost her memory.

Davis nodded, studying her and then kissing her intently again. "I'll talk to you soon. I love you."

Her eyes widened a little at the words and although she tried to say it back, she simply couldn't bring herself to, she felt disconnected from him, like the connection she felt earlier was all pretend, "I'll talk to you soon."

He frowned a little. "All right." He headed for the door.

Chloe held her breath as he walked away, then sighed deeply as he left, relieved that it hadn't been as hard as she'd expected. She didn't want to hurt his feelings, and she had been afraid to just tell him it was over but somehow, things had changed. She felt a lot more connected to Oliver than she did to Davis, the guy she had been going out with for months now.

She ran her fingers through her hair and walked up to the door, locking it before making her way to her desk and booting her laptop. Maybe she could have a better idea of what she was missing by going over her personal records and emails.

* * *

After he left Chloe with Davis, he'd made his way back to Metropolis and put in a few hours at his Queen Industries' office. By the time he headed out the door, all he wanted to do was go home and sleep for a few hours. Raking a hand through his hair, he blew out a breath and stepped out onto the sidewalk, turning to head for his car.

"Oliver," Davis called darkly, pushing himself from the wall where he'd been leaning against for a while now, waiting for Oliver to come out.

He paused, then turned to face the other man, a bit startled to see him there. "Davis," he said, eying him warily.

Davis stared at Oliver for a moment then walked up to him, "look," he said, twisting his neck as he tried to keep his temper in check, "I don't know what you said to Chloe while you were there," he told him, "but if I find out you did _anything_ to make her turn on me..."

He narrowed his eyes at the unspoken threat. "What I said to Chloe has nothing to do with you," he informed him evenly. "This might be a shock for you, but I don't really talk about you. Or think about you."

"You want her," he accused, his eyes dark, "I know you do, I can't blame you, Chloe is an amazing woman, but she's _mine_. You better make sure you're clear on that."

Oliver's own eyes darkened. "And you better make sure you know that the only person Chloe belongs to is herself," he said coldly. "She's not a possession, and she deserves better than to be treated like one. So you better make sure you're clear on the fact that I'm keeping my eye on you."

"She belongs with _me_ ," Davis pushed, "and if you get in the way of that, we will have a problem."

His jaw tightened and he moved closer to the other man. "Bring it on," he said darkly.

Davis stretched his neck a little, his hands turning into fists against his sides, his eyes narrowing, "you don't want to see me angry, Oliver." Davis managed through clenched teeth, "this is your warning." He told him before turning around and walking away.

Oliver glared after him, instantly tense once more, the way he seemed to feel anytime he was around the paramedic. Shaking his head and tightening his jaw, he turned and headed for his car, his own hands clenched into fists. He was glad the drive back to the clock tower was only a few minutes long and that traffic was light because he wasn't in the mood to deal with anymore unplanned for distractions.

Until he spotted the petite blond huddled on the curb in front of the clock tower, staring at her phone.

Then he was tense for another reason. From worry. He parked the car and made his over to her. "Chloe?"

Chloe blinked a couple of times, looking up at him and back at her phone before pushing herself up quickly, "this thing actually works, this is amazing," she told him, her eyes wide.

His eyebrows furrowed. "What thing?"

"Some sort of tracker," she told him, "I found Isis and I... was looking at the computers and all the research, I don't know what a lot of it means, but this map popped up and it had your name on it and then I pressed mobile on it and it appeared in my phone so I was coming here to find you when you started to move here too and then now it's showing me you're here," she told him, all in one breath.

He blinked a couple of times, trying to absorb that. "You chipped me." There was a mixture of amusement and confusion in his voice.

Chloe blinked a couple of times too and looked from him, to her phone then back, "you didn't know about this?"

"Not so much," he admitted, watching her for a moment. "How long have you been out here?"

"Not long," she told him, shrugging a little, "I'm... sorry I didn't tell you about this before?"

"It's not a big deal," he told her, shrugging, as well. "Come on, you wanna come up? It's cold out here."

"Are you busy?" She asked quietly, raising her eyebrows, "I mean, are you going... out?"

"Oh." Oliver shook his head a little. "No, not tonight. I'm kinda tired."

"Oh," Chloe nodded a little, "if you want to go rest, I can come back tomorrow."

"No, it's fine," he assured her. "I'm just too tired to patrol. I'm awake enough for company." He smiled softly at her.

She smiled softly back at him and nodded a little, "I do have some things I want to ask you about if you do have the time," she admitted, wrapping her arms around herself because of the cold.

Oliver shrugged out of his jacket and draped it around her shoulders without a second thought. "I always have time for you," he told her.

Chloe looked over at the jacket then up at him and smiled softly, "thank you."

"You're welcome." He rested his hand at the small of her back, guiding her to his private elevator lift.

She pulled the jacket around herself as they walked then paused when her phone rang, she pulled it up again and looked down at it then sighed softly, shaking her head a little.

He glanced at her sideways, giving her a questioning look.

"It's Davis," she told him quietly, sliding the phone in her jeans' back pocket as they walked inside.

His jaw tightened as he pressed the button for his penthouse suite. "Oh."

"I'll take a wild guess here and assume you two don't like each other," she said, raising her eyebrows.

Oliver was silent for a moment and he glanced at her once more. "I don't really know him very well."

"Oh," Chloe took a deep breath and nodded a little, "I have the feeling I don't either..." she admitted.

He paused. "You've been seeing him for awhile," he said quietly.

"I know," she told him quietly, shaking her head and pursing her lips together, "and what I remember about it and how I feel right now are two completely different things."

Oliver was quiet for a moment. "Oh."

"Sorry," Chloe said quietly and shook her head, "I don't know if you and I talk about things like that."

He shook his head. "It's okay, Chloe. You don't need to apologize for anything." He paused. "For the record, we haven't really talked about that stuff a lot, but...I don't have a problem with it if you want to talk about it."

She smiled a little at that and nodded, "thank you, Oliver, for being so incredibly helpful."

Oliver reached out and gently squeezed her hand.

Chloe pursed her lips together and squeezed his hand back, looking down at their hands for a moment before looking up at him again, "can I ask you something a little more... personal?"

"Yeah, go ahead," he said with a slight nod.

"Did we ever..." she paused, "was there ever something between the two of us?"

Oliver held his breath for a moment, then bit his lip. "No," he said softly. "Just friendship."

Chloe looked at him for a moment then nodded a little and looked away, pursing her lips together. She wasn't sure what to think about that, there was a lot she didn't know about apparently, but she had been wondering why she was so comfortable with him, even more comfortable than she'd been with Clark when he went to see her, definitely more comfortable than she'd been with Davis earlier.

"Can I ask you something?" he said after a moment.

Chloe pursed her lips together and nodded a little as she turned her head and looked up at him.

"Are you intimidated by Davis?" he asked quietly, turning to look at her, watching her intently.

"Oh," she pursed her lips together and nodded a little, "kind of, I guess? I don't think he would hurt me or anything but he's very... intense."

Oliver studied her, then exhaled slowly, nodding and looking away. "Just...be careful, Chloe."

Chloe looked at him for a moment and hesitated for a second before squeezing his hand, "tell me what makes you say that?" She asked, "I know I'm missing things, Oliver, and I think you're the only one who is being honest with me. I called Clark earlier and he hung up as fast as he could, I haven't tried Lois yet, but I don't remember her meeting Davis before and I'm not sure how much about me seeing him she even knows about."

He pulled the gate up as the elevator reached the top floor and he led her off it and into his apartment. "He came to see me as I was leaving work," he admitted, not because he wanted to stir up trouble, but because he thought she had a right to know.

"Today?" She asked, frowning.

"Right before I came home," he told her quietly. He motioned to the sofa. "Make yourself at home. Do you want something to drink? Or to eat?"

Chloe shook her head, walking over to the couch and sitting down then looking up at him, a worried frown on her face, "what did he want?"

Oliver hesitated a moment, rubbing the back of his neck. "He thinks I said something to turn you against him and warned me not to get in the way of his relationship with you. That you and he belonged together."

Her eyes widened a little at that and she shook her head, "I'm sorry he did that, Oliver."

"It's fine, Chloe, I'm just a little concerned," he told her, sitting down beside her.

She nodded, chewing on her bottom lip as she thought about it for a second, "I told him I needed a break, so I could figure things out," she said quietly, then looked over at him, "I thought that, if I told him I didn't want to see him anymore, he would freak out."

Oliver was silent for a moment, gazing at her. "So you _don't_ want to see him anymore?"

"I don't know?" She sighed and rubbed her forehead, "it's weird, like I said, it doesn't feel the same way. I remember being... intoxicated by him, just wanting to be close to him, _needing_ him," she told him quietly, looking away, "but this time I saw him and it was just... blank. Like he was a stranger."

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "Sounds like the break was probably a good idea," he said softly.

"Yeah," she whispered quietly, "he started to freak out even when I suggested it, but he calmed down when I told him he could call me."

"And he's been calling you ever since," he guessed.

"Every hour at least," she sighed softly, leaning back against the couch.

Oliver frowned at that, his stomach tightening. He was fairly certain his hunch was correct. Davis was more than a little possessive and that made him very, very wary. "If you want to get your number changed, I can help with that."

"Thank you," she told him quietly, "if it gets out of hand, I'll take you up on that."

He nodded a little, not wanting to push her. "You said you had some questions for me?" He offered her a small smile.

Chloe smiled softly at that and nodded, grateful for the offer but also that he had let the Davis subject go for now, "yeah, well, I was at Isis and... there was this room with all the screens and the walls, they were all covered in profiles," she told him quietly, "I knew I was losing my memory, didn't I?"

Oliver was silent for a moment and then he nodded slowly. "Yeah. I think so."

She winced a little, "but I didn't tell you I was, did I?"

"No," he said softly. "But when I found the profiles pinned up around the room, I made the same assumption you did."

Pursing her lips together, she nodded a little, watching him for a second, "what was I so afraid of?" She asked quietly, "why wouldn't I ask for help if I knew it was happening?"

He gazed at her for a moment, his chest tightening. "How much do you remember about Smallville, Chloe?" he asked softly.

She took a deep breath and nodded a little, "I know I'm missing parts of it too, of high school," she told him quietly, "I found binders under my bed labeled 'wall of weird', I apparently wrote a bunch of articles on people I called meteor freaks, people who I believed had superpowers because of some kind of meteor infection," shaking her head a little she shrugged, "I thought it was too out there to be true, but looking at all the profiles at Isis, the other members of the team have powers, don't they? So it is all possible?"

"It's not just possible," he said quietly. "It's all true." He let out a breath and leaned back on the sofa a little more, making himself comfortable. "I wasn't around in Smallville when most of that stuff was going on, but I know it happened."

"Do you have any powers?" She asked quietly.

He smiled a bit at that and shook his head. "No," he said ruefully. "I'm the only member of the team who doesn't have any kind of ability."

At that, she stilled, her eyes widening a little, "does that mean _I_ have some kind of ability?"

Oliver reached out and rested a hand on her arm. "You did for awhile. You uh...you had a healing ability. I don't think you have it anymore, though." His voice was gentle.

"Why not?" She asked quietly, staring at him with wide eyes.

He searched her eyes and then blew out a breath. "You were attacked by an alien," he said quietly. "He's the reason you lost your memory, too."

Chloe stopped at that, a smirk appearing on her lips, "okay, I'll buy the people with superpowers thing, but aliens? Really Oliver? What green little men from mars abducted me or something?"

He didn't smile. "No, not little green men. More like...a super-powered alien computer possessed you for awhile."

Her face fell at that and all she could do for a moment was stare, "you're serious."

"I wish I wasn't," he whispered. "I'm sorry that I've dumped so much information on you today, Chloe. But I don't think the way to protect someone is to keep them in the dark."

"Don't be sorry," she told him sincerely, "I'm the one asking all the questions, I want to know, I want to understand but it's just-- it's a lot bigger than I expected."

Oliver nodded a little, gazing at her. "Are you sure you don't want a drink?"

She took a deep breath at that and looked over at him, "do you have anything stronger than water?"

A smile tugged at his mouth. "Plenty. What's your poison?" he asked, giving her arm a gentle, reassuring squeeze before he rose to his feet.

"Whatever you have open, I'm not picky," she told him, smiling a little as she pulled her hair behind her ear.

"How do you feel about scotch?" He grinned a little and headed into the kitchen.

Chloe cocked her head a little and watched him, "I don't know if I've ever had it before," she admitted, raising her eyebrows.

"Are you feeling brave? I also have beer or wine of some kind, I think."

"I'm learning a whole lot of new things today, I think I can handle a new kind of alcohol, besides, wine and beer might not be strong enough for aliens." She told him, smiling a little then stilling when her phone began to ring once more.

Oliver paused, his body tensing a little. "Scotch it is."

Her jaw clenched as she looked down at her phone and she rolled her eyes as her phone beeped a few seconds after it stopped ringing, telling her there was a new voicemail, "I think he's supposed to be working. I can't imagine how much more often he'll be calling when he's not working."

"Maybe you should turn it off," he suggested softly, pouring each of them a drink.

"Yeah," she said quietly, "I just didn't want to do it in case someone else called, but..."

"Your call," Oliver told her, moving over to her and handing her one of the glasses.

Chloe stared down at her phone for a moment then nodded and shut it down before placing it on the coffee table, "hopefully no one else will need me tonight."

He watched her, then sat down once more. "You're welcome to stay here. I have guest rooms," he said quietly.

"Oh," she pursed her lips together and nodded a little, "I guess if we're going to drink I can't exactly make the drive back to Smallville," she said quietly, secretly grateful for the offer too because she had the feeling Davis was going to go looking for her as soon as he was done with work.

"If you want to go back, I can call my driver," he offered. "It's your choice."

She held her breath at that and nodded a little, "thank you," she looked down at the glass then over at him, "I rather stay somewhere where Davis can't find me for the night, if you don't mind."

"I don't mind," he said quietly, resting a hand on her shoulder. "You're welcome here anytime, Chloe. Even if I'm not here. I'll write down the access code for you so you can get in."

Her eyes widened a little as she watched him, "thank you," she whispered quietly and smiled softly.

Oliver smiled back, nodding a little and taking a drink of his scotch. "You're welcome."

Chloe looked down at her glass once more then took a sip of it, expecting the liquid to burn it's way down her throat, but when it didn't she cocked her head, it was a lot smoother than she'd expected, "nice."

A smile tugged at his mouth. "I would hope so." His eyes were twinkling with amusement.

"Why?" She asked curiously, "do you own the company that makes it?"

He grinned, shaking his head. "No. But the bottle this came from was a little over thirty grand."

She blinked, her eyes widening as she glanced toward the kitchen then back at him, "are you telling me that this," she said, lifting the glass, "costs more than my car?"

He raised his eyebrows, chuckling a little at her expression and taking another drink. "Enjoy it." He winked at her.

"I almost feel guilty," she smiled softly then shook her head, "do you buy bottles of this often?"

Oliver smiled a bit. "Not as often as I used to. But I figured you could use it."

She smiled a little and nodded, "I won't complain, it's really nice, but I almost feel like it should be left for celebrations."

He shifted so he was facing her. "It is sort of a celebration," he told her, searching her eyes.

Chloe cocked her head a little and watched him curiously, "how so?"

"Because even without all of your memory back, you're a lot more you than you have been," he said softly.

Her face softened at that and she took a deep breath, smiling a little then taking a sip of the scotch again, "I'm glad to hear that," she told him quietly, "I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings or anything by not being me."

Oliver nodded at that, taking another drink, as well, and keeping his eyes on her.

She turned to look at him a little more and smiled a little, "I have about ten thousand questions about the whole alien thing, by the way, I just don't know if I can handle the information overload right now."

A small smile touched his mouth. "Whenever you're ready," he assured her.

Chloe smiled back at him and took a deep breath and lifted her glass to her lips, stilling mid-sip when she felt the building shake slightly, "what was that?"

Oliver raised his eyebrows, frowning a little. "Almost felt like an earthquake. Thought I was safe from those here," he joked, rising to his feet. His eyes widened a little as the building shook even more. "Okay, we should get under the kitchen table." He held his hand out to her.

She took his hand and shook her head even as she placed the glass down on the coffee table and stood up, "we don't have earthquakes in Kansas, Ollie," she said quietly, her eyes wide.

"I think any place can have an earthquake, Chloe." He led her into the kitchen.

Her grip on his hand tightened as the building shook once more, harder this time.

Oliver's eyes were wide as some kind of spiny-looking _monster_ crashed through the back door, red eyes glowing. "Run!" he told Chloe, pushing her back toward the living room.

Chloe froze, her eyes wide as she stared at the monster who was breathing loudly, his eyes seemed to glow brighter when he saw her and if it wasn't for Oliver dragging her away, she wouldn't have managed to run even as that... _thing_ advanced on them.

"Go, go," Oliver said urgently, yanking open the elevator grating and pushing her inside. "Call Clark!" he told her, moving toward his secret room.

But just as he turned around, the monster advanced and with a single hand, punched him in the stomach and sent him flying across the room.

"Oliver!" Chloe cried and ran out of the elevator without thinking about it, but she didn't manage more than a couple of steps before the monster picked her up. She stared up at him with wide eyes and all she could do was scream.

The last sound he heard as his head slammed against the floor was the sound of her terrified screaming.


	9. Chapter 9

  


Seconds after he heard the unmistakable sound of Chloe screaming, Clark ran in the direction of Metropolis, he went to Isis first as he couldn't hear her anymore, his eyes widened when he saw all the research papers and all the information she'd had up on the walls scattered around the couch, his gut clenching, he just hoped she hadn't put the pieces of the puzzle together, but if she had, and she hadn't called him, there was only another person that would know everything about this.

Without a second thought, he rushed to the Clocktower and moments later, he was up on the top floor his eyes wide at the destruction he found there, "Chloe!?" He called urgently, looking around.

Oliver lay in a heap on the floor, groaning as he began to drift toward consciousness. Blood stained the front of his shirt. His body was half covered with debris and dust from the destroyed apartment.

Clark looked around for a moment longer, he could hear the heartbeat, and with his x-ray vision, rushed to where Oliver was, not hesitating before pushing all the debris away from him, "Oliver?" He called, turning him on his back carefully.

His head hurt, but not as much as his stomach. "Find Chloe," he managed to ground out.

"I'm dropping you off at the hospital first," Clark told him, picking him up a second later and running him out of the Clocktower.

"Something took her," he whispered as Clark laid him down on a gurney seconds later. "Monster."

"I'll find her," Clark told him, taking a deep breath and once the nurses were surrounding Oliver, he took a couple of steps back and disappeared.

He laid his head down and stared up at the ceiling. And then darkness engulfed him once more.

* * *

Clark was back at the hospital a few hours later, his jacket ripped in places as he listened, making his way through the corridors until stopping just outside the room the nurse told him he could find Oliver in. His jaw was tight, and it took him a deep breath to manage to open the door. "Oliver?" He called, looking in the direction of the bed.

He struggled to sit up. "Did you find her?" he asked, pressing his hand to his stomach.

"Yes," Clark told him, walking up to the bed, "I need to take you to the farm."

Oliver's eyebrows furrowed. "Is that where she is?" He sat up a little more.

"Yes," he answered again, "and she's asking for you, apparently."

He held his breath for a moment, then shoved the covers aside and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, inhaling sharply as pain cut through him. Ignoring it, he slid out of bed. "I'll get dressed."

"Hurry," Clark said, watching out for nurses or doctors as he turned to face the door, "she doesn't have much time."

" _What!?_ "

"Braniac is possessing her again, he has completely taken over her this time, I don't know what happened, but I found her at the fortress and she was stronger than me." He told Oliver, keeping his back to him.

Oliver shrugged out of the hospital gown and quickly pulled his regular clothes on, ignoring the protests of his body as he did so. "But she's asking for me?" There was more than a hint of confusion in his tone.

"She's not conscious," Clark told him, his jaw tight, "but we have help, this girl can read minds and she can hear Chloe in there."

Fear made his chest tighten. "I'm ready. Take me to her."

Clark turned around and picked Oliver up an instant later, before running out of the room and back to the farm.

A wave of nausea hit him when Clark set him down, but he fought against it, blaming the pain meds in combination with the super speed. He wondered idly why the hell Clark had brought Chloe to his _barn_ instead of somewhere more comfortable--say _the couch_ , but he didn't question it as he moved over to her side, barely glancing at the three people gathered around her.

"Are you Oliver?" The blond woman asked quietly as she looked over at him from where she stood on Chloe's opposite side.

"Yes." He reached out and laid a hand against Chloe's cheek, worry in his eyes. "What's happening?"

"She's scared," the woman told him then smiled gently, "but she knows you're here now."

Oliver swallowed hard, not daring to look at Clark. Instead he focused all his attention on her. "I'm here, Chloe," he whispered. "You're gonna be okay."

"We should start," Clark said tightly, looking at the two other man.

The two men exchanged a look and nodded at one another.

Oliver held his breath, reaching out and covering one of Chloe's hands with his own. "What's going on? What are you going to do?"

"Extract Brainiac from her body," the taller man answered, stepping closer and holding his hand over Chloe.

He swallowed hard, watching with wide eyes as light began to surround them. His heart pounded heavily in his chest, and he sucked in a breath as Chloe's body began to convulse.

Moments later, a black crystal ball formed in the air, above her head, her body was shaking for a moment longer and then it stopped and she calmed down, her limbs relaxing against the table as everything was silence once more.

The taller man reached for the ball and took it in his hand.

"Is it over?" Clark asked, concerned.

"Yes. This is all that is left of him." He answered, holding the crystal.

Oliver moved closer to Chloe once more, glancing up at the man. "Destroy it."

"No," he said, pulling the crystal in his jacket pocket, "we will take it to our time, Braniac Five might be able to study the technology and we can hopefully use it for good."

His jaw tightened at that. "Your time?" he echoed.

"Kal will explain later," the woman said kindly then took a step away from Chloe, "she's waking up."

He looked down, reaching out and pressing his hand to Chloe's cheek. "Can you hear me?" he whispered.

Chloe sighed deeply and turned her head toward Oliver, leaning her face into his touch before slowly opening her eyes.

Oliver held his breath as she opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Welcome back, Sidekick," he murmured.

She smiled tiredly and lifted a hand to his arm as she nodded slightly. Swallowing hard, he leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead, closing his eyes. "You all right? How do you feel?"

"Tired," she whispered to him, closing her eyes too as she wrapped her fingers loosely around his arm, "and not nearly as smart."

He rested his head against hers for a moment. "Good," he whispered without hesitation.

"Are you okay?" She whispered quietly, tiredly.

"I'm fine. Let's get you someplace more comfortable, all right?" He smoothed his hand over her hair gently.

She took a deep breath and nodded, relaxing a little more, close to falling asleep.

Clark had said his goodbyes to the other three and they had left, back to their own time. And then he'd watched Oliver and Chloe for a moment, his jaw tight, he had no idea what was going on, but he didn't like it.

"I'll take her inside," he told Oliver, walking up to them, "and I'll take you back to the hospital."

"No. I'm staying," he responded, not looking at Clark.

"You're hurt, Oliver, and Chloe needs to rest," Clark said, stepping closer to the table they had laid Chloe on and picking her up.

"I'll be fine. I'm not going anywhere," Oliver said again, evenly. Chloe took a deep breath and opened her eyes a little when Clark moved her, her fingers still wrapped around Oliver's arm. "It's gonna be all right," he said, his voice softening as he looked at her.

She smiled a little at him then closed her eyes again, letting her head drop to Clark's arm as she fell asleep.

Clark's jaw tightened once more and his eyes narrowed at Oliver before he turned around and started toward the house with Chloe.

Oliver's eyes narrowed right back and he followed closely, wincing a little as the movement pulled against the stitches in his stomach.

He didn't say a word as they walked into the house, he paused in the living room, considering the couch before walking up the stairs and taking Chloe to his parents' bedroom.

He followed Clark up the stairs, as well, and watched as he carefully laid Chloe down on the bed. Oliver moved over and carefully tugged one of the blankets up around her.

"We should let her rest," Clark said, his voice firm, a sign that that was more than just a suggestion.

"I don't intend to keep her awake," he said just as firmly.

"You can wait _downstairs_ , Oliver." Clark pushed.

Oliver narrowed his eyes at Clark, his jaw tight. "What exactly do you think is going to happen, Clark?"

"I think you need to come downstairs and _explain_ to me exactly what happened before that thing took Chloe." He said, eyes narrowing, "and what you told her to make her call for you instead of me or her boyfriend."

He almost smirked at that. Almost. "I'll gladly explain what happened before she was taken. The rest isn't really any of your business." He glanced at Chloe's sleeping figure, then headed out of the room once more.

Clark watched him as he walked out, glancing at Chloe for a moment before following and closing the bedroom door behind him as he followed Oliver down the stairs.

Oliver sat down on the sofa and let out a breath, closing his eyes for a moment as fatigue gripped him.

"So?" Clark asked, raising his eyebrows and crossing his arms over his chest as he stood.

He raised an eyebrow at the other man and shrugged a little. "All I know is that thing stormed in, ripped my place apart and took off with Chloe."

"What was it?" Clark asked.

"I was figuring you could tell me." He gazed intently at Clark.

"Chloe said something about Doomsday, but I didn't see the thing that took her there." Clark said.

Oliver's eyebrows furrowed at that. "Doomsday?" he echoed. He shook his head a little. "It was big. Really big. Some kind of monster. Spiky. And pissed off."

Clark sighed and shook his head, "we have to find him before he can get her again."

He tensed at that. "I can get her out of Metropolis. Far away from the city, make sure it can't find her until you track it down."

"And if it finds her when she's with you?" Clark said, "you can't stop it."

Oliver's jaw tightened. "And you _didn't_ stop it, so what makes you think she'll be any safer staying here where he found her last time?"

"I wasn't _with_ her when it happened!" Clark said, staring at him.

"All right, so what's your plan? You're going to stay with her 24/7?" he asked, staring back at him.

"I'm going to keep an ear on her until we find it," Clark said. 

Oliver studied him intently. "Fine."

"I need to go see Jor-El and what is left of the fortress, see if he has any answers," Clark said, as much as he didn't want to leave Chloe alone with Oliver, he had no choice.

His eyes darkened a little. "As long as it doesn't involve more memory wiping of your _friends_ ," he said evenly.

"I already told you it was for her protection Oliver." He said tightly, "let her rest, I won't be long."

"Just go," he responded, his gaze accusing.

Clark's eyes narrowed but a second later, he was gone.

Oliver let out a breath as soon as he was gone, and he shut his eyes, laying his head back against the sofa. He wondered if Chloe was ever going to catch a break.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Chloe woke up, she didn't recognize her surroundings at first, but then realized she was at the farm. She slowly made her way down the stairs, listening but it seemed like the house was completely quiet. As she entered the living room, however she was surprised to see Oliver, not Clark sitting on the couch, "Oliver?" She called, frowning slightly.

He sat up quickly from his relatively comfortable reclined position, biting down hard on his lip as pain shot through him. "Hey. You're awake."

"Yeah," she said and frowned more instantly at the look on his face, "what's wrong?"

He shook his head a little. "Nothing. How are you feeling?" he asked anxiously.

"I'm okay," she told him, approaching him carefully, then stilling and blinking, "you have blood all over yourself, Oliver, what happened?"

Oliver was caught off guard by that, and he looked down at his shirt, which, sure enough, had a large bloodstain on the front of it. He grimaced a little, realizing he'd probably popped stitches. Great. "Oh, uh..." He exhaled slowly. "What do you remember?" he asked carefully.

"I don't know," she said, walking up to him and looking down at his shirt, "let me see," she told him, "I remember being at Isis and then going to the Clocktower to talk to you, but it's all fuzzy."

He shook his head a little. "I'm fine," he said softly, gazing at her. "You don't remember anything about what happened at my apartment?"

"Not really," She told him, frowning, "but by the looks of it, it was bad."

He blew out a breath, and rose to his feet slowly. "And you feel okay?" He searched her eyes.

"Kinda tired, but okay," she told him, "where is Clark?"

Oliver hesitated a moment. "He had an errand to run," he said vaguely, wondering why he was even protecting the guy.

Chloe frowned at that, "right, so what happened to me? Was I possessed by something again?" She asked, knowing the feeling of waking up with missing chunks of her memory all too well.

"Still, actually," he said softly. "That alien super-computer that I told you about before...turns out it wasn't really gone like we thought."

"You mean Brainiac?" Chloe asked, frowning at his choice of words.

He froze at that, staring at her with slightly-widened eyes.

"What?" She said, not liking the way he was looking at her, "I should ask Clark to take me to the fortress, make sure it's gone for good this time."

He opened his mouth to respond, then forced himself to smile. "That's the errand he was running, actually. Well, going to the fortress anyway." He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. "But it was to try and track down the thing that demolished the clock tower and kidnapped you. Brainiac's gone. These guys from the future performed some kind of funky techno-exorcism." He avoided her gaze.

"Okay..." She said, still frowning as she sat down on the footrest next to his chair, "and why are you having problems looking at me? Did I do something to you?"

"No," he said quickly, shaking his head and slowly sitting back down once more, as well.

"Then what is it?" She asked, looking at him, trying to read his expression but he was completely blocking her out.

Oliver managed a small, faint smile and shook his head. "All this alien crap just...weirds me out a little," he told her.

Chloe looked at him for a moment then took a deep breath and nodded, "I should take you to the hospital, I'm sure Clark won't mind me borrowing the truck."

"No, it's fine. He'll be worried if he gets back and you're not here." _Right._

"I'm sure one of us still has our cellphones on us," she said, standing up, "if not, I'll leave him a note, c'mon, Ollie."

He sighed softly, looking down at the floor for a moment, then slowly rising to his feet once more.

Chloe lifted her hand to his arm, just in case he needed the help then nudged him toward the front door, only pausing to grab the keys.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, they were sitting in an exam room at Smallville General Hospital and Oliver was trying to wrap his brain around the fact that somehow Chloe now remembered Clark's secret, and didn't remember that she'd not known it for awhile, and didn't seem to remember any of the time they'd spent together in that short time between. Honestly, the alien crap was starting to get on his nerves in a very big way.

"Do you need anything?" She asked quietly as they waited for the doctor, watching him with worried eyes, "food, water?"

"I'm all right, Chloe," he told her, shaking his head a little. "It's not a big deal."

"I'll believe that when the doctor tells us so," she told him, taking a deep breath as the man walked into the room and stepping away from the bed Oliver was in. She had no idea what was going on other than what Oliver had told her, but he was obviously uncomfortable with whatever it was, but more importantly, he seemed to be uncomfortable being around _her_ , he had been avoiding her eyes the entire time and although Oliver was used to the weird and unexplained, she didn't know if he'd ever been around when one of them had been possessed by something or someone, so she had to make sure to apologize to him for whatever she had done, because she had had to do something with the way he was acting.

"Mr. Queen, can you tell me what happened?" the doctor asked with concern as he studied the chart in his hands for a moment.

"I got attacked." He shrugged a little, not feeling the need to explain things more than that.

"Seems like you've lost quite a bit of blood. Please remove your shirt so I can examine you."

Sighing inwardly, he tugged the shirt off over his head and set it on the exam table beside him. "I had stitches in Metropolis. I think I just popped some of them."

"Hm."

Chloe raised her eyebrows at the new information and looked from the doctor to Oliver, but remained silent as the man examined him.

"Looks like you're correct, Mr. Queen. From what I can tell you seem to have burst six of the stitches. I'll get a suture kit and be back." He headed out the door of the room.

She watched as the doctor left then crossed her arms over her chest, "you went to the hospital?"

"Clark took me," he said with a slight shrug.

"And you obviously weren't okay enough to _leave_ the hospital, so how did you end up in Smallville?" She pressed.

Oliver met her gaze--briefly. "Clark said I was needed."

Chloe watched him for a moment, she thought she might be getting somewhere and then he looked away, "right." She said, irritated. "I'll just stop asking questions if you're obviously are not willing to tell me what really happened." She said tightly then stepped to the side, away from the bed, "maybe I'll have better luck with Clark."

He flinched a little at the anger in her tone. "I told you what happened. Something attacked us at my place, tore the place up, and took off with you. Clark took me to the hospital, went and found you, some people from the future showed up, did their thing and left."

"Obviously that isn't everything because none of those things explain the way you're acting." She said, looking at him again.

"Hey, I'm in pain and still high on painkillers. Be glad I'm able to form a complete sentence."

Chloe looked at him for a moment then rolled her eyes and shook her head a little, but didn't say anything.

He blew out a breath. "It doesn't matter."

"It seems to matter to you." She told him, watching him.

Oliver gazed at her. "That thing is still out there, Chloe. And we don't know what it is, or why it took you, or if it's coming back."

"I'll ask Clark to take me back to Isis to do some research as soon as he shows up, Oliver," she told him then walked closer to the bed again, knowing it was more personal than that, "look, I don't remember if I said or did anything to you while I was Brainiac, but if I did, I'm sorry. I know it doesn't help much, but without knowing what it was, there isn't much I can tell you."

He swallowed hard, and shook his head, his chest tightening the closer she got. "It's not like that," he said quietly.

Chloe cocked her head a little, watching him closely not to miss anything of his reaction, "does it have anything to do with why I was at the Clocktower when we go attacked?"

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "Chloe, you didn't say or do anything to me."

She sighed deeply and nodded, there was no point trying to get it out of him, he wasn't going to tell her. Why should he? "I'll go check on the doctor and see what it's taking him so long," She told him before turning around and making her way to the door.

Oliver shut his eyes as she headed away from him. "You should try and call Clark."

Chloe paused at that and looked over her shoulder for a second then, with a short nod, pushed the door open and disappeared from the room.

His shoulders slumped as she left. He realized, then, that no one was going to come out a winner.

Not from this.

Not now.


	10. Chapter 10

  


Oliver lay in the hospital bed, only half-conscious. Somewhere in the distance, he could hear a very annoying beeping sound and he groaned a little, trying to block the sound out. Except when he moved, pain shot through his ribs and his head throbbed painfully. _Fuck_. He swallowed hard, but his throat was too dry. What the hell was going on? he wondered, trying to remember what had happened.

"Careful," Tess said as she stood up from the chair she'd been sitting on and walked over to the side of the bed, "can't have the only remaining LuthorCorp board member drop dead too."

His eyebrows furrowed at the sound of her voice. "Mercy?" He opened his eyes slowly.

"When I heard what had happened, I cut my trip to Dubai short, I figured the investors would understand under the circumstances," she told him, sliding her hands into her coat's pockets and looking down at him.

He licked his lips, closing his eyes once more. "What happened?" His voice was strained.

"Someone put a bomb in the press conference room," she told him, watching him for a second, "it killed everyone who was there, except you."

Oliver's chest tightened at that, and he fell silent. _Lucky me_ , he thought bitterly.

"Did you see anything?" Tess pressed, her expression more alive than usual, thirsty.

"Like what?" His jaw tightened a little. "A flash?"

"Anything that could help us identify who planted the bomb," she told him, her eyes dark.

"No," he said shortly.

Tess narrowed her eyes slightly and stared at him. "Do you think it's him?"

"Who else would it be, Tess?" He let out a breath.

She took a deep breath and smirked a little, pulling out her phone, "I'll send some security to keep an eye on you." She told him.

"I don't need your lackeys, Tess," he responded evenly.

"They are yours now," she smirked at him, typing on her phone for a second, "I assume you don't want updates on the search for Lex, then?"

Oliver rubbed a hand over his face tiredly. "Is there anything to be updated _on_?"

"Hopefully," she told him, "stay safe, Oliver," Tess told him before turning to walk for the door, except it opened before she could reach it.

Like she really cared. He shut his eyes, not realizing the door had opened again or that he had another visitor.

Chloe stepped into the room then stilled, her eyes narrowing instantly when she saw who was in there.

Tess raised an eyebrow at Chloe, then glanced back at Oliver for a moment. "Interesting," she murmured with a faint smirk, giving Chloe a look and then heading out of the room.

"Can't say the same about you," Chloe murmured back, turning her head to watch as Tess walked away before looking over at Oliver.

Oliver opened his eyes as soon as he heard Chloe's voice, a little surprised to see her. "Chloe."

Chloe paused when he spoke her name, she hadn't heard from him at all since that day in Smallville and she hadn't bothered to contact him either, but when she heard about the bomb, she had to make sure he was okay, "hey," she said carefully, not sure how he would react to seeing her.

"Hi." His voice was quiet, but the annoying beeping--coming from the heart monitor--began to beep just a little faster. Because the universe was out to get him, apparently.

She blinked and glanced over at the heart monitor, frowning a little, "are you okay? Should I get a nurse?"

He shook his head a little. "I'm all right." He exhaled slowly and shut his eyes for a moment.

"Okay," she said quietly, watching him then glancing at the monitor and watching as his heart beat slowed down some, "I can come back later if you want me to."

"It's fine. You're fine. I mean--you don't have to go." He paused. "You know, unless you want to."

Chloe paused too and bit down on her bottom lip before stepping a little closer to the bed, "I just wanted to make sure you're okay," she told him quietly.

"Oh. Right." His voice grew softer and he nodded a little, swallowing hard. "Well, I'm going to live, according to the doctors."

"That's always good news," she told him quietly and tried for a smile.

Oliver was silent for a moment. "Can't say much for the people he murdered."

She sighed deeply at that and nodded, "Clark is looking into it," she told him quietly, "so we can make sure it was really him."

"It was him." There was no doubt in his voice. He leaned back against the pillows.

"We need to know for sure," Chloe said quietly, "and we need to make sure he doesn't get this close again."

"He won't." Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly, sitting up in the bed again.

"What makes you so sure?" She asked, frowning.

"Because I'm not going to let him," he answered vaguely.

Chloe's expression grew serious, "what are you saying, Oliver?"

"That Lex has to be stopped," Oliver responded, not meeting her eyes.

"By what means?" She pressed, taking a step forward.

He shrugged a little. "I'll figure it out. Don't worry about it, Chloe."

"Too late, Oliver," she told him, her voice firmer than before as she stared up at him.

"Did you just use your Watchtower tone on me?" he tried to joke.

Her face remained unchanged and she stared at him.

Oliver shifted uncomfortably in the hospital bed, which was uncomfortable to start with. "How's Clark?" There was just a faint hint of bitterness in his voice. Barely detectable.

"Do you even realize what you're talking about, Oliver?" She asked firmly, keeping her eyes on his face.

"I know exactly what I'm talking about, Chloe," he said evenly.

"I'll take a leap of faith here and blame it on the pain killers and just hope you don't act on it," she told him, her voice just as even.

He finally looked at her. "Why not?" he challenged. "All he does is destroy everyone we know. He experiments on people. He blew up a roomful of his own board members who weren't happy with _me_ taking over. He knows Clark's identity."

"Because you're talking about taking a life, Oliver," she told him, her jaw tight as she watched him closely, "it doesn't matter whose it is."

"Is that Clark Kent talking or is that you?" he asked with a faint smirk.

Her eyes narrowed at him, "does it matter?" She told him, "it's the truth."

"It's an opinion," he responded coolly.

"It's the truth," she pressed, "and thinking otherwise makes you a murderer, not a hero."

Oliver's chest tightened at that, but his expression grew completely neutral. "Sure."

"That's not who you are, Oliver." She told him, shaking her head and taking a step back, "I hope you feel better soon." She said blankly before turning around.

"Take care of yourself," he said, laying his head back on the pillows and shutting his eyes.

Chloe took a deep breath and walked out of the room, shaking her head a little as she did, she had to do something.

* * *

It was days later when Chloe finally decided it was time to go see Oliver again. This time, at the Clocktower, a folder clenched tightly to her hand as she stepped into the elevator and pressed in the code, her chest and jaw tight, she couldn't believe he had been able to do this, not Oliver. Someone she had so much faith in.

Oliver dumped the broken picture frame remnants that had held his favorite picture into the trash can. It had been weeks since the attack, but he still hadn't gotten around to getting things completely cleaned up. He carefully laid the picture on the coffee table, reaching down to pick up the broken shards of glass from the floor. He heard the elevator making its ascent to his apartment, but he didn't turn to look. There weren't many people who had the codes to get in, and only one of whom he'd been expecting now for the past few days. Frankly he was surprised it had taken her as long as it had.

Even as she pushed the gates open and made her way inside the apartment, Chloe didn't say a word, he had his back to her, but she knew that the sound of her high heels clicking loudly against the floor were enough warning, if the elevator hadn't been, so she walked over to where he was, folder still in hand, but remained silent.

He didn't look up at her. "Chloe," he said quietly, brushing the glass into the trash and slowly rising to his feet.

She wasn't surprised he knew it was her, still, she didn't greet him, she took a step to the side and held out her the folder toward him.

Oliver didn't meet her eyes, just took the folder from her wordlessly and flipped it open, unsurprised by the photos that lay inside. Pictures from the hospital security feed, of him walking out with Toyman's explosive in his hands. He shut the folder once more and handed it back to her, not responding.

Chloe took the folder without taking her eyes off of his face, "after that conversation at the hospital, I didn't doubt you would be able to do it," she spoke, her voice tight but void of emotions, "I just didn't think you would sink this low, letting another man take the blame for something you did." She paused, "for the murder _you_ committed."

He finally met her gaze, the anger and intensity there beyond anything he'd ever seen from her before. What was worse was the disappointment. The _disgust_. All easily identifiable--because it was how he felt. "What can I say, Chloe? I'm not the guy you thought I was," he said, his own voice completely blank.

"No," she told him, staring up at him, "I could never admire a coward," she told him.

He turned away from her, kneeling down once more to clean up the debris. "Lex deserved what he got. And Toyman? He's just as guilty. It was his bomb that killed those people. And don't think for a second he wouldn't have killed you if he'd had more time, because he would have."

"That's what made you different from him, Oliver," she told him, looking down at him, "now you're the same as he is."

His jaw tightened a little. "So why are you here?"

"I had to see what you had to say for yourself." She said blankly.

Oliver paused. "You can't tell me you're not a little relieved, considering."

Chloe stilled at that, staring that at him for a moment longer, "relieved?" She echoed, buying herself time.

He looked up at her. "Relieved that he can't cause anymore trouble. That he can't kill anyone else. That he can't go after anyone you love--including your mother or Clark."

She took a deep breath at that and as much as she wanted to look away, she forced herself not to, "as much as I want to deny that, it wouldn't be the truth if I did." 

"I know." He held her gaze for a long moment. "Lex got what he deserved and now he can't hurt anyone else ever again. And if you're asking me if I regret that? The answer is _no_."

Chloe sighed and shook her head, "you didn't have to do this, Oliver."

"I did. It's done," he said, rising to his feet once more and rubbing his hands over the knees of his jeans.

"I don't care that Lex is dead," she told him, staring at him, "what bothers me is that _you_ will always have this on your conscience now."

Oliver diverted his gaze, shrugging a little. "I'll deal. You don't need to worry about me."

"Too late." She told him, staring at him.

"What do you want from me, Chloe?" he asked, turning his head to look at her once more.

She took a deep breath and stared at him for a moment then shook her head, "nothing." She told him, her voice wavering a little as she turned around and started back to the elevator.

His chest tightened and he shut his eyes for a moment. "I'm sorry."

Chloe paused at that and turned her head slightly but not enough to look at him, "you have no reason to apologize to me," she told him, "but maybe to yourself."

He smiled bitterly at that. "Like I said, you don't need to worry about me. I know worrying about Clark Kent is a full time job."

She frowned at that and turned around to face him, "what is your problem with Clark lately?"

Oliver met her gaze, his eyes distant. "Why don't you ask Clark?"

"Why don't you tell me?" She asked, eyes narrowing slightly.

His jaw tightened a little and he stared at her for a long moment. _Because you wouldn't believe me even if I told you_ , he thought. Especially not then. "Maybe he's just a little too much of a boy scout for me."

Chloe stared at him for a moment longer then shook her head, "whatever you say," she told him, "but for the record, I don't plan on telling him about this," she told him, raising the folder.

"And why's that?" he asked, shaking his head a little, honestly curious.

"Because Clark would never understand," she told him, staring at him. She wasn't sure she understood, but she wasn't going to crucify Oliver like she knew Clark would.

"I'm not asking you to keep this a secret, Chloe." He gazed back at her for a moment then turned away. "There's been too much of that going on lately."

"I know you're not," she told him, "but I think it will be better if he doesn't hear about it, for his sake."

If that wasn't ironic, he didn't know what was. He turned to look at her once more. "Maybe you should be a little more concerned about taking care of yourself instead of Clark all the time, Chloe."

"I can do both," she told him, watching him.

"If you say so," he responded, his voice very quiet.

"You don't think I can?" She asked, frowning.

"I think you put too much faith and trust in people around you," he said honestly.

"If I can't have faith in my friends, who am I supposed to have faith in, Oliver?"

"Yourself," he said quietly.

Chloe smirked a little at that, "really? Because you have so much faith in yourself?"

"I have more faith in myself than I do in most people," Oliver responded.

"Easier said than done, isn't it?" She shook her head, "don't _you_ worry about _me_. You have enough on your plate."

"Someone has to," he told her, his chest tightening a little at her words.

"Maybe it's time you take your own advice," She said blankly. 

Oliver turned away from her, rubbing his hand over his face tiredly. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept, and everything they said to each other seemed to make things between them even worse. "Sure," he muttered.

Chloe's face fell a little once his back was to her and with a deep breath, she turned around and made her way to the elevator once more.

"Take care of yourself, Chloe."

"You too, Oliver," she told him quietly without looking back.


	11. Chapter 11

He was coming out of the LuthorCorp offices when he caught sight of his favorite blond hurrying down the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street. His eyebrows furrowed as a pack of reporters followed her quickly, shouting questions at her.

 _Now what?_ he wondered.

"Miss Sullivan! How long have you know that your best friend is the Red-Blue Blur?" one of them shouted, chasing her. 

"Is he really an alien?" another demanded, stepping in front of her and halting her progress.

Chloe kept her mouth shut, she was less than a block from Isis but she was wondering if going in there was even a good idea because they would probably just camp outside until they could get answers but then again, going into a public space wouldn't be any help either. She took a deep breath and kept on walking, she'd decide it when she got to Isis.

"Miss Sullivan! Surely you can just make _one_ comment--" another began, and then found himself blocked by none other than Oliver Queen.

"Miss Sullivan has a very busy schedule," he said, staring the group of reporters down with a hardened expression. "I don't think it's a good idea to keep her from it."

Chloe stilled, blinking when realize it was _Oliver_ out of all people, standing between her and the reporters and considering how much taller than her he was, quite successfully blocking her behind him.

"Mr. Queen!" One of them squealed, "do you know the Red and Blue Blur too!?" She asked, putting a microphone close to his face.

"No comment," he responded with a neutral expression. Without further hesitation, he turned around, took Chloe's arm and led her into Isis, shutting and then locking the door behind them. "What the hell is going on?"

She took a deep breath once they were inside, shaking her head a little, she looked up at him, "Clark is out, everyone knows who he is and what he is." She breathed, turning to look at him.

Oliver stared at her with wide eyes. "How? What--how did this happen?" He shook his head.

"This former Planet employee was blackmailing him, so he told Lois the truth and had her publish the story instead," she told him, glancing at the door as the reporters continued to shout questions.

He took that in, then turned toward the door, moving over and pulling the blinds shut. "This is insane."

Chloe sighed deeply when he shut the blinds and nodded, rubbing her hands over her face, "he thought people would be accepting..."

Oliver blew out a breath, shaking his head and turning to look at her once more. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," she said, pursing her lips together and looking up to him, "thanks to you."

He held his breath for a moment. "Yeah, well, years of dealing with the vultures..."

Chloe winced at the wording and nodded a little, "I guess I had never really experienced the other side before."

A faint smile tugged at his mouth. "Not people like you, Chloe." He pointed toward the door. "That kind."

"I've stalked a few people before..." she told him quietly, "usually evil politicians, but still, that's pretty scary and overwhelming."

He nodded a little, watching her. "I hate to tell you this, but we're probably stuck here for awhile."

"I figured," she told him, "well, we have blankets and pillows and food and drinks and a bathroom, so hopefully we will be okay," she told him quietly, then looked at him for a moment longer, "I'm sorry you got caught in this."

"Don't be," he said just as quietly. He watched her for a moment, hesitating. "If you're uncomfortable with me being here, I can go. I've dealt with the press enough to know how to handle them."

"I'm not," she told him sincerely then took a deep breath and looked down then back at him, "I've been meaning to go see you, but I just had no idea how you would react."

Oliver's chest tightened at that and he looked down for a long moment. "Yeah, we didn't...exactly leave on good terms," he murmured.

"Yeah..." she pursed her lips together, "I should never have been so harsh with you."

"You weren't." His voice was quiet.

"I was," she whispered quietly before stepping forward and looking up at him, "you didn't need that on top of everything you already had to deal with."

His eyebrows furrowed at that. "What are you talking about?"

"When I came by with the pictures, accusing you." She told him quietly.

"It was the truth, Chloe." Oliver shook his head a little. "It wasn't just an accusation. You don't need to apologize to me."

"Yeah, I do," she told him quietly, "I'm sorry I accused you and I'm sorry I blamed you for something we all wanted to do at some point before. I'm not Clark and I know how it is to be in the end of one of his judgmental rants, and that's what I sounded like."

"You're nothing like Clark," he said sharply.

"I'm trying not to be," she said, holding his gaze, "which is why I'm apologizing."

He shut his eyes for a moment, then moved closer to her, resting his hands lightly on her shoulders. "Me too," he whispered.

"You don't have to apologize for anything," Chloe said quietly, looking up at him.

"I was a jackass when you came to see me at the clock tower." He gazed at her.

"Not as much as I was to you," she told him, then took a deep breath, "just, don't worry about it, okay?"

Oliver swallowed hard, nodding a little and searching her eyes. "How are things going?" he whispered. It had been awhile since he'd seen her, since they'd last talked, and he had no idea what was even going on with her now. And that upset him on more than one level.

"It's been... quiet," she told him, "oddly quiet, until today anyway."

"Quiet's good, right?" he murmured.

"Unless it's the quiet before the storm," Chloe told him, watching him, "what about you? How have you been?"

He nodded slightly at that. "Okay," he said softly. "Also quiet."

"That's good to know," she cocked her head to the side, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he told her, watching her. "A little tired, but fine."

Chloe nodded a little and looked at him, "let's go into one of the inside rooms, so we don't have to hear them," she suggested, "like I said, we have pillows and blankets if you wanna rest."

He smiled faintly and followed her into her office, letting out a breath. "So the news is out. Now what?" he wondered aloud.

"I don't know," she said, sighing softly, "they are making his life hell."

"Yeah, well. What goes around comes around," he said without thinking, his jaw tightening just a little.

Chloe paused at that and frowned, "what do you mean?" She asked, shaking her head a little.

Oliver glanced at her, then shook his head a little. "Just...they'll get theirs," he said lamely.

She sighed softly and shook her head a little, "do you want something to drink? Eat?" She offered, she had been trying to get this, whatever it was out of Oliver for a while now, since she got kidnapped by whatever that was and he was still not willing to tell her, there was no point arguing.

He shook his head a little. "I'm all right," he whispered, turning away from her.

Nodding again, she took a deep breath and walked over to the armchair where she had a couple of pillows and folded blankets, "do you want any of this?"

"How are things with Davis?" he asked quietly, avoiding eye contact.

"They're... not." She told him, picking up a blanket and a pillow.

Oliver paused, then lifted his gaze to look at her. "You broke it off?"

"I haven't seen or heard from him since... before I got kidnapped by that thing. He had left me some weird voicemails and I tried finding him but the hospital said he took a leave." She said, shrugging a little.

He studied her for a moment. "How are you feeling about that?"

Chloe considered that for a moment then walked over to him and held out the blanket and pillow, "honestly? One less thing to worry about. I hope he's okay but..."

"Chloe, do you remember--any of the conversation that we had about Davis before you were kidnapped?"

"No," she told him quietly, sighing softly, "I remember talking to you and I remember it being about him and that he kept calling but it's fuzzy."

Oliver nodded slightly, looking down at that.

"Are you planning on ever telling me whatever it is that I don't remember?" She asked, a hint of frustration in her voice even as she kept it low.

He swallowed hard. "It's complicated, Chloe."

"I don't think it's a secret that I can handle 'complicated', Oliver." Chloe told him, dropping the blanket and pillow over the couch.

"And what about betrayal?" he asked very softly.

At that, she frowned, "I can handle that too."

"Even if it's done by the one person you trust the most?"

Her chest tightened at that but she stared up at him, shielding herself, "yes."

Oliver rubbed his hands over his face. "Let's sit down."

Chloe frowned at that and watched him for a moment then walked over to the couch and sat down on the edge of it, restlessly.

He moved over and sat down on the chair beside the sofa, resting his elbows on his knees. "When you started losing your memories of everyone." He swallowed hard. "Clark took you to the Fortress to try and get rid of Brainiac."

"Okay?" She said, turning on her seat so she was facing him as much as she could, "what happened?"

His jaw tightened a little. "When he brought you back to Smallville, I came to see you, to make sure you were okay. That you were yourself again. Clark had texted and told me that Jor-El had gotten rid of Brainiac. But..."

"But?" She pressed, her eyes widening a little, she was finally getting her answers, it seemed.

"But when I got there and we started talking, I realized there were still things that you didn't remember," he murmured. "So I went to see Clark, to tell him that it hadn't worked. That you were still missing portions of your memory."

Her eyes narrowed at that, she kept her gaze on his, watching him closely for information, "and?"

Oliver swallowed hard, diverting his eyes. "He said that he asked Jor-El." He shut his eyes for a moment. "He asked Jor-El to erase all your memories that related to his secret."

At that, she stilled, her eyes widening and she couldn't sit anymore. Pushing herself up, she shook her head, "what? _Why_?"

"He said he was trying to _protect_ you," he answered, not looking at her.

"Protect me?" She echoed, shaking her head, " _protect_ me by keeping me in the dark?" She asked him, disgusted.

"That's what I said," he said quietly. "Among many other things."

Chloe rubbed her hands over her face and sighed, shaking her head, "what would make him _think_ I would want that?" She asked, shaking her head.

His jaw tightened a little. "He wasn't thinking about what _you'd_ want, Chloe. He was thinking about himself, as per usual."

Her own jaw tightened at that as she turned to look at him, "like he was today." She said finally.

"He tries to come off as this innocent naive farm boy, but when push comes to shove, Clark Kent is the most self-centered bastard I've ever met. And coming from me? That's pretty bad."

She blinked at the anger in his voice, like he was finally letting out everything he'd been keeping bottled up all this time, "this is why you're mad at him," she said, "this is why you've been so angry every time I bring him up."

"How could I not be mad at him, Chloe?" Oliver shook his head. "He had no right to do that to you. To take things out of your mind!"

"No, he didn't," she agreed tightly, "but you didn't have to keep this from me either, Oliver. You could have told me."

He flinched at that and looked down immediately, knowing she was right.

"Sorry," she said, her jaw clenching, "it's not your secret to tell, he should have told me, I'm just... I'm trying to understand _why_."

"No. You're right. I should have told you." He didn't look at her.

"No, Oliver, I'm sorry," she sighed, walking over to him, "he should have, this isn't your fault."

Oliver swallowed hard and exhaled slowly. "For what it's worth...I never would have made that choice," he said quietly.

Her expression softened a little and she bent down, placing her hands on his arms as she watched him, "thank you," she said sincerely, "and thank you for telling me."

He held his breath as she moved closer to him. "There's something else that you should probably know."

Chloe held his gaze and nodded a little, "what is it?"

Wordlessly he lifted a hand to her cheek, searching her eyes for a moment before pressing a kiss to the corner of her mouth silently.

She stilled at that and so did her heart, just to pick up again a lot faster than before. She didn't know what to do for a moment, but found herself leaning slightly closer, a hand tightening around his arm.

Oliver hesitantly brushed his nose against hers and then kissed her once more, softly, this time fully on the mouth, before he pulled away.

She returned the kiss then pulled back slowly, opening her eyes wide as she did and looking at him, "did I-- did I not remember that?"

"No, we never...that never happened before," he admitted quietly.

"Oh," she breathed and nodded a little, a little relieved that she hadn't forgotten that. She knelt down on the carpet to be a little more comfortable and sat down on her heels. "good."

He gazed at her intently. "So that's...okay?" he asked hesitantly.

"I-- it's unexpected." She whispered, watching him, "but I think it is."

"I know my timing isn't great," Oliver admitted.

"I have thought about it before," she admitted, looking down for a second before looking at him, "I never thought you would have."

He looked at her in surprise. "You have?"

She pursed her lips together and nodded a little, "it's fuzzy, but the memory of that day in the Clocktower, it comes with this... urge to kiss you."

Oliver gazed at her intently. "We talked a lot that day," he said softly.

"What did we talk about?" She asked quietly.

"How you helped the team. Brainiac, even though we didn't call him that. Davis."

"... I forgot the team?" Chloe asked, her eyes widening instantly once more.

"I guess it was all a little too tied into Clark's secret," he said softly.

Her jaw tightened at that and she shook her head, "so I didn't remember about your identity either?"

Oliver shook his head slightly. "No. You didn't."

She started to get angry again but forced herself to take a deep breath. Oliver wasn't the one she was angry at. "And you told me the truth, didn't you?"

"I told you about who I was, yes," he said honestly. "I told you about the team."

"And that's why I trusted you so much," she said quietly, cocking her head to look at him.

"I guess it is," he said just as quietly.

Chloe took a deep breath and rubbed her hands over her face again, "thank you for telling me," she said again, "both times."

Oliver nodded slightly, watching her carefully. "Are you okay?" His voice grew even softer.

"Yeah," she told him, taking a deep breath and looking up at him again, "I'll leave the planning of what I'm going to tell Clark for later."

He looked down for a moment, then met her gaze. "I need to apologize to you." 

"What for?" She asked, frowning a little.

"The reason I didn't tell you," he said quietly. "I could make excuses why I didn't. I mean, with the whole kidnapping and then everything with Lex..." He shook his head. "But those are just excuses. The reason I didn't tell you is because as badly as I wanted to put on a Kryptonite ring and go after Clark...you two are close. I didn't want to screw that up for you. Not when I was never sure if my motivation for telling you was being you deserved to know or if I was just jealous." 

"You can apologize if you feel like you need to, but I'm not holding this against you, Oliver," she said sincerely, sitting up again, "not when it was his fault and when _he_ should have told me the truth." She told him quietly, searching his eyes. 

He reached out without thinking about it, tucking some hair behind her ear, his thumb brushing lightly over her cheek. She held her breath when he did then shifted closer to him, placing her hands on his knees and leaning forward to kiss him softly.

Oliver kissed her back without hesitation, closing his eyes and sliding his hand into her hair. Her heart was beating fast against her chest as she relaxed a little into the kiss, still trying to comprehend the fact that Oliver Queen was kissing her, not because he was possessed by something, but because he wanted to and apparently had wanted to for some time.

He leaned his forehead against hers when the kiss ended, taking her other hand in his and sliding it up and over his heart silently. 

Chloe stilled at the gesture, she could feel his heart beating fast under her palm, as fast as her own. She opened her eyes slowly and pulled her head back just enough so she could look at him.

He smiled faintly, holding her gaze. "I've wanted this for awhile now," he admitted.

"I'm still trying to understand the fact that you want this at all," she admitted back to him, smiling slightly too. 

Oliver cocked his head to the side at that. "Why?" he asked, shaking his head a little.

"Because..." she shrugged a little, "I never thought you'd see me that way."

"Because of...Lois?" he asked uncertainly, trying to understand.

"Oh," she blinked, raising her eyebrows, "I hadn't thought of Lois..."

Oliver studied her for a moment. "Oh." His voice was quiet as realization dawned on him. "Because of Clark. Because he never saw you that way." 

"Partially, maybe," she shrugged a little and shook her head, "I don't know."

"It's his loss," he said softly, searching her eyes. "Fortunately I'm not as blind as he is."

Chloe smiled a little, holding his gaze and nodding slightly, "fortunately."

Oliver leaned in and kissed her once more, brushing his nose over hers.

She shifted a little closer and smiled softly up at him.  
At that moment, the door in the other room burst open. Alarmed, Oliver rested his hands on her shoulders for a second, then quickly rose to his feet to see what was going on, expecting to see reporters flooding the place. As he stepped into the other room, however, he spotted Davis Bloome. His eyes narrowed a little.

Chloe was right behind him and she stilled when she saw Davis there. "What are you doing here?" She asked, alarmed.

His eyes were narrowed and dark as he stared at Oliver for a moment, then looked at Chloe. "I need to talk to you. Alone. It's important."

She looked over at Oliver and nodded, taking a deep breath, "okay?"

Davis moved closer to her, holding out his hand.

Chloe looked down at his hand then took a step back, making room for him, "we can go into my office," she told him, not taking his hand.

"Fine." Davis shot a glare at Oliver and then headed into her office wordlessly.

She watched as Davis walked away and looked over at Oliver, "you can go into the back room if you want to," she told him, knowing he knew about the secret computer room.

He hesitated a moment. "Are you sure you're okay with this?" he asked quietly, glancing toward her office and frowning.

"Yeah," she whispered to him, "I'll just see what he wants."

Oliver held her gaze and chewed the inside of his cheek. "All right."

Chloe held his gaze back and nodded, "there is a camera on monitor five in the computer room, you can see my office from there," she whispered to him then smiled a little and started toward the office.

"I'm here if you need me," he murmured, heading into the computer room.

She nodded then took a deep breath before stepping into her office and closing the door behind herself.

Davis turned to face her. "We need to leave," he told her, moving over to her immediately. "I'm in trouble. A lot of it. You're the only one who can help me."

"We?" She echoed, shaking her head, "I'm not going anywhere Davis, what are you talking about?"

He moved closer to her, putting his hands on her arms. "You're the only one who can help me," he said again, his eyes wild.

"Help you with what, Davis? What is going on?" she pressed.

"It's me," he whispered, his face close to hers. "I'm the one who's been killing people, Chloe. I'm not _human_."

She stilled at that, her eyes wide as she searched his face, "what are you?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "But I'm invincible."

She held her breath and slowly took a step back, "are you taking another form, Davis?"

"I don't remember much when I change." His grip tightened on her arms.

Chloe pulled her arms away from his grip, or tried to anyway, "let go of me."

"I can't," he told her, his fingernails digging into her skin. "We have to go now."

"You're hurting me Davis, let go of me." She said tightly.

"You're coming with me," he informed her, yanking her toward the door.

Oliver blocked their path. "Get your hands off her right now," he ordered.

"Ollie, run!" Chloe warned him immediately, "he's the monster."

His eyes widened at that, but before he had time to react, Davis had flung Chloe aside and charged at him, tackling him to the ground.

"Oliver!" Chloe gasped, her eyes widening as Davis turned into a monster in front of her, just as he started walking up to her, everything went black.


	12. Chapter 12

Tess barged into Oliver's office without blinking an eye, she pushed the doors open and shoved them closed behind herself, her expression was nothing but pure _anger_ as she marched toward his desk, "he was _mine_ , Oliver."

Oliver blinked, looking up at her with a blank expression. "What?"

"Don't sit there and look stupid," she said angrily, "you know what I'm talking about."

His eyes narrowed at her. "Yes, generally when people storm into my office while I'm in the middle of work and make random statements about possession, I know exactly what they're talking about," he responded evenly.

Tess walked around his chair and looked down at him, "Lex." She said tightly.

His jaw tightened just a little. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't you _dare_ lie to me, Oliver, I know the truth and you had _no_ right to take that away from me!" She accused angrily.

Oliver rose to his feet quickly, sending his chair careening backwards and into the wall, glaring at her just as angrily. "Let's get something straight, _Tess_." He moved closer to her, his jaw tightening even more. "You weren't the one that Lex tried to kill. He blew up an entire room full of people to try and kill _me_. So yes, it damn well _was_ my right to remove that threat."

She didn't back away when he moved closer, her jaw clenched as she stared at him, "that wasn't a personal threat, Oliver, that was business!" She accused, "he made me his own spying device for _years_. Lex was _mine_!"

He stared at her, as well. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Tess' eyes narrowed at him, her jaw tensing even more for a moment before she took a deep breath, "he had cameras _in_ me, he could see through my eyes, hear through my ears. All the time." She told him, disgusted.

Oliver swallowed hard, and shook his head a little. "I didn't know that, Tess."

"Too late now." She told him, eyes narrowing more, "once again, you ruined everything by making it all about you."

His eyes hardened once more. "That's right. I'm a selfish bastard," he responded evenly. "Now get out."

"Yes, you are," she told him tightly, "and I hope you remember that."

"Well, with you around to remind me, how could I _possibly_ forget?" He sat back down in his chair once more.

A smirk appeared on her lips as she looked down at him, "the one thing that figures here is that you can't even take the blame for it."

"Is that what you'd like? For me to come forward and admit it?" he asked, his tone bored.

"You being sent to the death row has absolutely no advantage for me."

Oliver rolled his eyes at that. "And what would be to your advantage?"

"Since killing him is no longer an option," she said, leaning against his desk sideways and looking down at him, "shouldn't you at least be trying to make it up to me somehow?"

He paused at that, taken back by the hint of seduction in her tone, barely there, but still there, nonetheless. He looked up at her slowly. "I don't know. Shouldn't you just be glad that he's dead and you don't have to worry about covering up and possibly getting caught for a murder?"

"Oliver," she smirked more, shaking her head, "I've never been caught before, why would I get caught this time?"

Oliver stared at her silently.

Tess cocked her head at that and raised her eyebrows, "don't tell me you're surprised."

"What happened to you?" he asked her, shaking his head a little.

"I could ask you the same thing." She told him, staring down at him.

"I lost my illusions," he responded, staring back at her just as intently.

Tess held his gaze for a moment then nodded, "same here."

"Then I guess we're not so different after all, are we?" he murmured.

"Never said we were," she told him, "although, I must say, I am impressed you actually had it in you."

He felt his chest tighten just a little at that. "Tess?"

She arched an eyebrow and looked down at him, waiting.

"Stop talking," he ordered softly, standing up and kissing her without warning.

* * *

Davis glared at the unconscious man on the ground, his eyes beginning to glow red. "I'm sorry," he growled lowly.

Chloe was just on the way back from getting coffee when she saw Davis' ambulance parked not far from an alley, she frowned and hesitated before stepping towards it, then stilling when she saw Davis himself standing there. She considered walking away, but something stopped her and she stepped toward him instead, "Davis?" She called.

He froze for a moment, blinking a couple of times as he realized he suddenly felt calmer. He stared down at the man for a second longer before turning and heading back in her direction. He smiled at her softly. "Hi."

Her eyes widened as she looked from Davis then down to the man and back, "is he okay?"

"Yeah, he had a bit too much to drink," he told her. "He'll be all right."

"Oh," she nodded a little, looking down at the man again, "I should let you get back to work, I was just surprised to see you were back in town."

"I just got back this morning," Davis told her, gazing at her. "I was going to call you."

"That's okay," she said sincerely, shifting her coffee cup from one hand to another, "I'm sure I'll... see you around."

"Do you want to grab some lunch later? Or dinner?" he suggested, sliding his hands into his pockets.

She hesitated for a moment then took a deep breath, "I suppose we should talk..." she agreed quietly, "lunch tomorrow?"

"Sounds good," he agreed, nodding a little and offering her a smile. "You can pick the time and place. I don't work until tomorrow night."

Chloe nodded again, "there's a new cafe around the corner, I can meet you there at one tomorrow?"

"That works for me. I've missed you," he admitted quietly.

"Davis," she stopped him, shaking her head, "it's not a date," she warned him quietly.

He paused at that. "What do you mean?"

"We're not..." she motioned between them with her free hand, "this isn't happening anymore."

"I don't understand." His eyebrows furrowed. "Did I do something wrong?"

"I haven't heard from you in weeks, Davis," she told him, shaking her head.

He winced and looked down. "I know. I know. I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "I'll explain everything to you over lunch tomorrow. I wasn't blowing you off, Chloe."

She took a deep breath and nodded, "I will too, I'll see you tomorrow," she told him quietly then took a step back, "you better get back to work," she told him, nodding at the unconscious man.

Davis nodded a little. "I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

A couple of hours later, Tess pushed herself up from the bed and reached for her robe, wrapping it around herself, "leave." She barked at him.

He blinked at that. "What?"

"Leave, get out, hinaus, sortez, surely you get the point," she told him, her back to him as she tied her robe.

Oliver stared at her back. "You really have turned into a cold bitch, haven't you, Mercy?" he murmured, kicking the sheets off his legs.

Tess looked at him over her shoulder and smirked, "how does it feel to be on the other side?"

"Surprisingly like it does to be on the usual side," he responded, picking up his clothes and getting dressed.

"Hurry up," she told him, arching an eyebrow as she turned to face him and placing her hands on her hips.

"What are you going to do? Call the cops?" He smirked, tugging the shirt on over his head. "Remember who the majority shareholder of LuthorCorp is, Tess. It's not you."

"I have my security for that, Oliver, I don't need the cops." She smirked, "and trust me when I say, they won't play nearly as nice."

He turned to face her, still smirking. "Neither will I," he informed her. "And if you want to push me, you can start looking for a new job." His voice was cold, distant, as he headed for the door.

"Don't take it so personally, Oliver," she told him, smirking, "I had an itch, you barely scratched it, I'm done with you," she told him then made her way into the bathroom.

His jaw tightened at that, his expression growing neutral, and without another word, he headed out of the room and out of the mansion, not looking back.

* * *

Chloe got to the cafe a few minutes early the next day, she had been restless about figuring out how this conversation would go, but she had her mind made up, she had no plans of getting back together with Davis, she just... didn't feel the same way about him anymore and she was far too much of a mess to even consider being in a relationship. That had been the reason why she'd broken up with Jimmy in the first place.

She ordered a cup of coffee then sat back against her chair on a table toward the back of the cafe, and waited.

Davis spotted her as soon as he entered the cafe, and slowly headed toward her, offering her a small smile when he sat down across from her. "Hi," he said softly.

"Hey," she told him, taking a deep breath and trying for a smile.

He ordered a cup of coffee as the waitress came by with Chloe's and then let out a breath, gazing at her intently. "I'm sorry I didn't get in touch with you," he murmured. "But something's been happening to me and I needed time to process."

"Are you okay?" She asked before she could stop herself and frowned slightly.

He lowered his gaze to the tabletop. "Not really," he admitted quietly. "I'm having black-outs. A lot. When I wake up, I have no memories of what's happened or how I got to wherever I am."

Chloe frowned more at that, considering she had gone through it more than once, she could relate. "Have you seen a doctor?"

"I'm scared to," he told her, closing his eyes for a moment.

"Why?" She asked, leaning forward over the table, "what do you think is causing this?"

He drew in a breath, letting it out slowly and looking up at her finally. "I don't know. But whatever it is, it can't be good, can it?"

"You don't know that, but a doctor might be able to help you," she sat up a little and took a deep breath, "are you waking up in strange places or just... wherever you were before?"

"I've never woken up in the same place twice," he whispered, rubbing his hands over his face.

"Davis," she shook her head a little then took a deep breath, "we can go back to Isis, I can bug you so we can have footage of everything you do."

He watched her for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Okay. I think that's probably a good idea." He swallowed hard.

She relaxed a little when he agreed and nodded, "okay, that should give us some answers."

"Thank you," he whispered. "For being willing to help me."

Chloe nodded a little and took a deep breath when the waitress brought him his coffee, she stood up, "lets get back, it shouldn't take me long to set it up."

Davis picked the coffee up and rose to his feet, as well.

"Chlo?" Lois grinned at her as she stepped over to their table.

Chloe blinked when she heard her cousin's voice and turned around to look at her, "hey," she said, smiling a little, "lunch break?"

She nodded, moving to her side and taking her cup of coffee. She took a drink, then handed it back. Then she finally glanced at Davis. Raising her eyebrows, she smiled at him, and looked at Chloe. "Gonna introduce me?"

"Oh, sorry," Chloe smiled a little then motioned to Davis, "this is Davis," she told her cousin then turned to him, "this is my cousin Lois."

Davis smiled faintly and held his hand out. "Nice to finally meet you, Lois. Chloe's mentioned how close you are."

Lois' smile brightened at that. "More like sisters than cousins." She shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, too."

Chloe smiled a little at the exchange then nodded, "their coffee is really good," she told Lois, "but we should get going, I'll call you later?"

"Yeah. Sounds good." She kissed her cheek, then smiled at Davis once more before heading to the counter to order.

She smiled and waved a little at her cousin then started toward the door once more with Davis, "what time do you have to be at work?"

"Not until eleven," he told her, following her without hesitation.

"Okay," she told him and nodded a little, sipping on her coffee as she reached inside her purse for the keys to Isis.

"Thanks again, Chloe."

"You don't have to thank me," she told him, "I just hope we find something."

"I hope so, too."

* * *

Lois was ready for a drink after she was done with work, she had to celebrate her next front page article somehow after all, but the second she walked into Ace of Clubs, she noticed none other than Oliver Queen sitting by the bar, glass in his hand. Wrinkling her nose, she walked right up to him and sat down next to him ordering as soon as she caught the bartender's eye, "I'll have what he's having, he's paying." She informed the man.

Oliver smirked, but didn't turn his head to look at her, downing the rest of his drink. "Bad day?" he asked wryly, motioning to his glass for another.

"Long day," she told him, "but apparently not as long as yours."

He shrugged a little, not meeting her gaze and picking up his drink. "I've had worse."

"Maybe a party will cheer you up?"

"Why? Know of a good one?" He arched an eyebrow, turning to finally look at her.

"Chlo's birthday is on Friday so we're having a party here on Saturday." She told him, picking up her glass, "I know you two don't know each other that well, but I'm sure she'd be okay with you showing up."

He flinched involuntarily, hoping she didn't notice, and quickly downed the rest of his drink. "Her birthday, huh? How old is she going to be?" If Lois was that out of the loop on just how well he knew Chloe Sullivan, he wasn't going to be the one to correct her.

"Twenty-two, but if you see her, don't tell her about the party, it's kind of a surprise even if it's stupid to try to surprise her, somehow she _always_ knows. I don't know how she does it." Lois said, sighing.

"She's smart." He shrugged a little, motioning to the bartender for another drink. "Once a reporter, always a reporter."

"Yeah, something like that," she shrugged it off then kept her eyes on him, "what's going on with you?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, taking a drink.

"You look like crap, Ollie, no offense."

"Like I said, long day." He shrugged, glancing at her sideways. "Nothing to worry about."

"I know you," she told him, arching an eyebrow, "takes more than a single long day to make you look like you were hit by a three ton truck."

"What can I say? The long day included losing a great deal with a potential high-paying client." He shrugged again, downing the rest of his drink. He smirked a little, turning to face her. "Don't suppose you want to help me forget about it?"

"Oliver Queen, did you just proposition me?" Lois stared at him in shock.

Oliver leaned in toward her just a little. "Why not? You're not seeing anyone, I'm not seeing anyone...we're adults. We both know it'd be a good time."

"Yeah, no. You're drunk." She told him, shaking her head, "give me your wallet."

He snorted. "And here I thought you weren't like most women, Lois." He rose to his feet.

"If I was, I'd be heading to the bathroom with you right now, I'm serious, Queen."

"No," he responded, tossing some money down onto the bar and heading away from her.

"Oliver, I'm not letting you go anywhere like this," she told him, following him.

"I'm a big boy, Lois. I think I can cross the street without you holding my hand," he said with a smirk.

"Doesn't mean I have to let you." She told him, still following him.

He rolled his eyes. "What do you _want_ , Lois?"

"To make sure you get home alive," she told him, reaching inside his jacket pocket and pulling his keys from it, "I'm finding you a cab."

Oliver's jaw tightened. "I'm _fine_."

"Great," she told him, "I'm still keeping your car keys."

"Whatever." He rubbed a hand over his face and headed for the exit without glancing back at her.


	13. Chapter 13

Chloe had known about the surprise party for a while now, since Lois called her and told her to make sure she kept her schedule clear for her birthday weekend. Besides, surprise parties were kind of Lois' thing, she always tried to set them up, even though Chloe always knew about them ahead of the time.

And even though she wasn't really in the mood to celebrate, Chloe was making an effort for her cousin's sake. Ever since her conversation with Davis the other day, she had had a bad feeling about things and since he still hadn't showed up with the camera so they could look at the footage yet, and he also hadn't returned her calls, she had no idea what to expect, but she knew it was bad.

So after greeting all the people Lois had invited, Chloe had managed to sneak out to the balcony of the Ace of Clubs for some space. She just needed a little time before she had to go back inside and deal with people.

Oliver stared at her back for a long time before slowly moving up behind her and setting a large, neatly wrapped package in front of her. His heart was beating quickly in his chest. He hadn't spoken to Chloe since she'd confronted him about killing Lex weeks ago. She had sent him an email, which he'd returned, but that had been the extent of their communication. Frankly he wasn't even sure she would want him at her party at all.

Chloe blinked and looked down at the gift then up at the source of the present, her eyes widening a little when she looked up at him, "Oliver, you didn't have to bring anything..." she said instantly. Not with the way she had treated him.

"This one's from Clark," he said quietly, not quite meeting her eyes. "He's sorry he couldn't make it."

"Oh," she said, looking back down at the box and opening it, "thank you for bringing it."

"You're welcome." He watched as she unwrapped the box, chewing the inside of his cheek.

Chloe smiled a little when she saw the book and nodded a little, "first edition." She murmured.

"Penny for your thoughts," he said softly, noting the pensive expression on her face.

"When I first moved to Smallville," she told him, glancing up at him, "I asked Clark if the library there had this book because I had misplaced my copy in the move and it was one of my favorite books." Chloe smirked a little, "he just 'happened' to have it at the barn, but really, he ran out to the library and borrowed it when I wasn't looking."

He smiled faintly, but it didn't reach his eyes. "He liked you from the start."

"I was calling him Amish all day and talking about how I didn't like that we had to move to a tiny town, he wanted to prove to me that Smallville wasn't that bad," she told him, looking up at him.

Amusement crept into his features and he nodded a little. "I see."

Chloe smiled a little and placed the book back in the box then closed it, "I'm glad Lois invited you."

That caught him by surprise. "You are?"

"Yeah," she told him, nodding slightly but keeping her eyes on the box for a moment longer before looking at him, "I've been meaning to apologize to you."

Oliver shook his head a little, not quite meeting her eyes. "Don't. It's not necessary." Before she could protest, he produced another box, this one smaller and wrapped in green paper. "This one's from me." He held it out to her.

She watched him for a moment longer before taking the box from him and opening it carefully and pausing when she pulled a silver and emerald necklace from it, "Oliver, this is beautiful."

"It uh--even matches your dress." He kept his voice light.

Chloe nodded and held the necklace toward him, "would you mind?"

Oliver took the necklace from her and shifted slightly so he was standing behind her, carefully fastening the clasp, his fingers skimming lightly against her neck.

She couldn't help the slight shiver that ran through her at the contact, but she held her breath as she tried to brush it off, "thank you," she told him, looking down at the necklace and reaching to adjust it over her neck.

"Welcome," he murmured, moving away from her once more and letting his hands drop to his sides. He gazed at her for a moment. "Happy birthday."

"Thank you," she said again, looking up at him. She wanted to talk to him about Davis, but this wasn't the time or the place, "how have you been?"

"Fine," he said without hesitation. "Everything's fine. How've you been?"

She studied him for a moment then nodded, "okay," she told him quietly.

Oliver nodded, as well. "Good," he said just as quietly.

Chloe watched him for a moment, "do you think we can talk? After?"

He held his breath, swallowing hard. "Yeah, if you want."

"Yeah, I do, if that's okay with you."

"I don't have any plans," he said quietly.

She smiled a little at that and nodded, "okay, thank you."

He smiled faintly and glanced inside. "What do you say we go back inside so you can enjoy your party?" he asked quietly.

Chloe took a deep breath and nodded a little, picking up her presents, "yeah, I suppose we should."

Oliver hesitated a moment, then offered her his arm. She smiled softly at him then took a step closer and took his arm. She didn't know if he was just pretending not to hate her because it was her birthday or if he really was okay with her, but she was going to go with it.

He escorted her back inside the Ace of Clubs, glancing around and realizing he didn't have a clue who most of the guests were. Which was normal for him, considering he rarely knew the ones who attended events he sponsored or threw.

"Lois invited a bunch of people from the Planet," she told him, "I don't really know a lot of them, I think she felt bad about my lack of friends."

He winced at that involuntarily. In the back of his mind, he knew the reason Chloe didn't have a lot of friends wasn't because she wasn't friendly and warm, but because she had too many secrets to keep that she didn't let people get close to her. "I'm sorry Clark's not here," he said again, his voice dropping a little.

"He has much more important things to deal with," she told him, shaking her head a little and placing the gifts over the table with the rest of them, "don't be, it's okay."

"You're important, too," he said quietly. "Don't forget that."

"I know," she told him then smiled a little, grateful that he was trying to make her feel better even if it wasn't necessary, "but people like us, we have different priorities and the whole missing a birthday thing doesn't even make a blip on the radar."

He smiled faintly at her, shaking his head a little. "You're one of a kind," he murmured, almost inaudibly.

She smiled a little more at him then shrugged as they walked into the room and she instantly spotted Lois, talking not with one, but three guys, and they all seemed equally interested, "yeah, so is Lois."

"Must run in the Sullivan-Lane clan," he responded, shaking his head a little and diverting his attention. He winced just slightly as he recalled the last conversation he'd had with Lois--that hadn't been pretty either. And he owed her an apology.

"Right," she smiled a little then took a deep breath, glancing up at Oliver and frowning a little when she saw the look on his face, "are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm all right," he assured her, nodding. "You want something to drink?"

"Sure," Chloe said with a deep breath, "that's the point of getting older, right? An excuse to get drunk."

"Works for me," he said with a barely-there smile. "What's your poison?"

"Whatever you're getting," she told him, shrugging.

Oliver raised his eyebrows at that, then his chest tightened at the memory of the one time they'd been sharing a drink together. Shaking off the thoughts, he turned and headed for the bar, ordering two glasses of scotch.

Chloe took a deep breath then looked around, she really didn't know anyone else there, not by more than just passing anyway so she didn't feel the need to have small talk with them.

Oliver returned a moment later, two drinks in his hands, and held one out to her silently.

She smiled a little at him and took the glass, nodding, "thank you," she told him quietly.

"Welcome." He lifted his own glass to her, winking and taking a drink.

Chloe watched him for a moment then looked down at her drink and took a sip of it too.

"Happy birthday, Cuz! Another year closer to the sweet release of death," Lois said cheerfully, bouncing over to her and placing a crown on her head, beaming.

She made a face and glanced up even though she couldn't actually see the crown, "thanks, Lo." She told her, reaching up and adjusting it over her head.

Oliver stepped back out of the way just a little to let the cousins talk.

"I'm so sorry about this, but there's a huge story breaking south of the border, and the Planet is flying me down first class in an hour to cover it." Lois moved forward and hugged her. "I'll totally make it up to you when I get back, though."

"Oh," Chloe nodded a little and hugged Lois, "yeah, don't worry about it, go get your front page and thanks for the party."

Lois kissed her cheek. "See you when I get back. Keep an eye on Ollie," she added, her voice loud enough for only Chloe to hear. Then she pulled away, grinning and headed off.

Chloe nodded a little and raised her eyebrows but didn't say anything else, just took another sip of her drink.

Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly, watching Lois head away. Guilt kicking in, he glanced at Chloe. "I'll be right back," he said with a small smile, finishing off his drink and depositing the glass on the bar before quickly catching up to Lois.

"Okay," Chloe told him, raising her eyebrows and watching as Oliver stopped Lois from leaving. She tried her best to ignore the sudden tightness of her chest, but when she wasn't able to, so she took a long sip of her drink. 

"You must be the birthday girl." A tall brunette wearing a magician's hat stepped in front of her, holding a small silver platter with a cupcake on it. There was a single birthday candle lighting up the top of the cupcake.

"Not by choice," Chloe told her and smiled a little then placed her glass on the bar and nodded at the cupcake, "thank you."

"Well, I'd say it beats the alternative." A small smile tugged at the woman's mouth. "Make a wish."

"Can you make anything come true?" Chloe asked, smirking a little.

Zatanna smiled at that, raising her eyebrows. "You might just be surprised."

She raised her eyebrow and looked back down at the candle and out of the corner of her eyes, caught a glimpse of Lois and Oliver talking closely. Her stomach tightened instantly and with a deep breath, she focused on the candle again and blew it out.

What she didn't see was the other woman's eyes flash a bright blue color. She winked at Chloe and headed away without a word.

* * *

"Look, about the other night." Oliver's voice was quiet. "I'm sorry, Lois. I had way too much to drink."

"Yeah, no kidding," Lois told him, raising her eyebrows, "what's going on with you, Ollie?"

He looked away, shaking his head a little. "It's a really long story," he said softly.

"I'm sure it is," she said, then placed a hand on his shoulder, "and I will get it out of you as soon as I get back so you better get ready for me."

He smiled faintly at that, and looked at her. "All right. Have a safe trip. Good luck with the story." He gave her a quick hug, kissing her cheek and pulling away once more.

"Take care of yourself, Ollie," she told him before pulling away and walking out of the club.

He exhaled slowly, watching her go, then turning to glance back at Chloe, his eyebrows furrowing a little when he caught sight of a magician talking to her. Raising his eyebrows a little, he slowly headed back over to her as the woman was leaving.

Chloe blinked a couple of times and looked down at her cupcake, not noticing Oliver until he was standing right next to her, "everything okay?" She asked out of habit, she really didn't want to know details about him and her cousin.

"Yeah, just needed to clear something up," he said quietly, offering her a small smile. "No magic tricks?"

"I got a wish and a cake," she told him then shrugged a little, "I'm willing to share this part," She lifted the cupcake a little, "if you can find us a knife."

"I'm sure there's one around here somewhere." Without thinking about it, he rested his hand on the small of her back, guiding her over to a table in the corner.

She held her breath and let him lead her toward the table. Maybe wanting to share something with him was a bad idea, maybe being close to him at all was a bad idea.

He pulled a chair out for her, then headed over to the bar, asking for two plates and a knife and then returning to Chloe's side. "Victory."

"Thanks," Chloe told him as she took the knife from him and placed the cupcake on one of the plates then cut it in half.

Oliver watched her silently, leaning back in his chair. "How've you been?"

She picked up a half and took some of the frosting on her finger then licked it off, pausing when Oliver asked her the question and smiling a little, "I think we went over that while we were outside."

The second her tongue darted out to lick the frosting off her finger, he couldn't remember what he'd even just asked her. He simply stared at her, his eyes a little wider than usual. "...what?"

Chloe smiled a little, "the whole 'how you've been' thing?" She asked.

Oliver stared at her blankly.

She looked at him for a moment then frowned a little, cocking her head, "are you okay?"

He blinked a couple of times. "What? Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." He swallowed hard.

After watching him for a moment longer, she looked down at her cupcake and broke a small piece of the cake off of it before eating it, "well, since the party planner left, I think I will head home too."

"It's your party and you'll leave early if you want to?" He smiled faintly.

"I'll leave early and no one will notice," she told him, "except maybe you." She tried for a smile then picked up her cupcake and took a bite of it.

"Are you okay?" His eyebrows furrowed a little.

"Yeah," she told him then took a deep breath, "tired, Lois decided to have a girl's night last night."

"Oh," he said softly, nodding a little and chewing the inside of his cheek. "Do you want me to walk you to your car?"

"It's okay," she told him quietly, "I left it back at Isis so I'll just take a cab there, thank you."

Oliver lowered his gaze to the table. "All right."

"Do you mind if I give you a call tomorrow? I need a second opinion on some... work stuff." She asked quietly.

"Sure," he said softly. "No problem."

Chloe nodded and stood up then paused, "thank you," she told him, "for the gift and especially for coming," she said sincerely.

Oliver gazed up at her and nodded. "You're welcome. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Have a good night, Chloe."

"You too," she told him, trying for a smile before heading over to grab her gifts and head back to Isis.

* * *

When he hadn't heard from Chloe by nearly five p.m. the next night, he began to worry. When he called her and she didn't answer her cell phone, he grew even more worried. By seven o'clock when he still hadn't heard from her, he made his way over to Isis, and let himself in using the key she'd given him. "Chloe?" he called.

Chloe stilled when she heard his voice, she looked around out of panic, trying to find a way to hide herself, but short of a paper bag over her head, there really wasn't a way out so she took a deep breath and stepped out of the secret room, pursing her lips together then stilling as she had an idea. She quickly closed the doors to the secret room, maybe she didn't have to give away her secret so easily.

"Chloe?" he called again, stopping suddenly when he spotted...Lois? His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Uh, hi?"

"Hey Oliver," she tried, smiling.

He cocked his head to the side. "You're back from Mexico already?"

"Didn't work out the way I hoped," she told him, shaking her head. "How are you?"

Something wasn't right. "Fine," he said vaguely. "I was looking for your cousin, actually. She mentioned needing some advice on work stuff, but she never called. I got worried, so..." He glanced around uncertainly. "Have you seen her?"

"Chloe isn't here," she told him, pursing her lips together and hoping that he wouldn't pick up on the fact that Lois always called her Chlo, not Chloe, "what's up?"

Oliver turned his gaze back to her once more, his frown deepening. "Have you heard from her today?" he pressed.

"Yeah, she's fine, don't worry about her." Chloe told him, doing her best to sound confident.

"You're sure? I mean, I tried to call her and she didn't answer or return my calls."

"Yeah, she's just dealing with some stuff," She pursed her lips together, considering just telling him the truth because he looked so concerned but she really wanted to know what was going on between him and her cousin, even if she knew it was going to hurt and make her feel even worse when she did. It was better if she found out this way so she could be ready for them when they told her about it.

Oliver rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. "All right," he said reluctantly. "I guess I should head back. Goodnight, Lois." He nodded at her and turned to go.

Chloe panicked a little and walked after him, "Oliver, wait."

He paused, then turned to look at her once more, uncertainly.

She looked just as uncertain about this whole thing, "about last night..."

Oliver's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and he waited for her to continue. "Yeah?"

She took a deep breath and held it, walking closer, she just hoped her cousin never found out about this, "Chloe isn't here, are you sure you don't want to... _hang out_ for a while?"

He paused, looking even more confused. "I should really head back so I can start patrol," he told her, shaking his head a little, not sure what she was getting at.

"You don't want some alone time with me?" Chloe asked, cocking her head, her heart skipping a beat at the possibility.

His eyes widened at that and he held a hand up. "Whoa, okay, look, the other night when I said those things..." He blew out a breath, shaking his head. "I was really trashed. And if I gave you the wrong impression, I'm really sorry." His voice dropped a little. "I thought we were okay when I apologized for it last night."

Chloe blinked and stilled at that, "oh," she held her breath and tried to push away the smile that was trying to crawl on her lips, "yeah, we're fine, I was just, you know, making sure."

"So...we're okay?" he asked uncertainly, giving her an odd look.

"Yeah," she said, then awkwardly punched him lightly on the shoulder because it felt like something Lois would do, then smiled, "yeah, I'll tell Chlo you were looking for her."

Oliver relaxed, blowing out a breath and offering her a smile in return. "All right. Thanks, Lois." He turned to go once more.

Chloe pursed her lips together and relaxed a little too, for her first experience she seemed to be able to act okay as her cousin.

"See you later," he said over his shoulder, heading for the door, still feeling a little confused.

* * *

It took her a couple of days to figure out how to break the spell, but luckily, she managed it in time for her cousin to come home and although Lois might get some strange looks when she went to work, she thought she had gotten through the whole thing without really causing too much damage, but there was one thing she still wanted to do, so she made her way over to the clocktower and took a deep breath before pushing the gate of the elevator open, "Oliver?"

He looked up in surprise from where he sat at his computer desk, a half-drank glass of whiskey beside the monitor. "Hey." His eyebrows furrowed a little. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," she told him, smiling a little as she stepped inside, "I-- Lo told me you came by."

"Yeah, I was just a little worried. When you didn't call." He hesitated a moment, rising to his feet. Frankly, he'd been worried that she'd realized he wasn't worth her time.

"Yeah, sorry I was... figuring some things out," she told him, "are you okay?" She asked, glancing at his glass.

"I'm good," he said, nodding a little. "Just unwinding." He paused for a moment. "Are you all right?"

"I'm okay," she told him, wrapping her fingers around the strap of her purse as she stepped further into his apartment, "but I did some thinking these past two days..."

Oliver's chest tightened and he swallowed hard. "Oh?"

"I don't think I have been doing enough," she told him quietly, watching him closely.

His eyebrows furrowed. "Doing enough?"

"As Watchtower, with the team," she told him, pursing her lips together and looking up at him.

He gazed at her for a moment. "Oh." He studied her. "So what you saying?"

"I guess I'm asking to be more involved," she said quietly, searching his eyes, "if that's okay."

A faint smile touched his lips. "Yeah. Absolutely. If you're sure that's what you want."

"I'm sure," she said firmly, smiling slightly at him, "this is what I'm supposed to be doing."

Oliver held her gaze, nodding slightly. "I wondered how long it would take you to realize it." He smiled. "Welcome back, Watchtower."

Chloe grinned softly at that and nodded, "thank you, Arrow," she told him, looking down then up at him again.

He hesitated a moment, then held his hand out toward her.

She blinked and raised her eyebrows then relaxed a little as she took his hand, eyes still on him.

He shook her hand and squeezed it lightly. "Good to have you back."

"Good to be back," she told him, her eyes bright as she squeezed his hand back slightly too.

Oliver smiled. "You hungry? I was thinking about maybe ordering a pizza..."

"I could eat," she nodded, relaxing a little more. She meant what she said, about being more of a member of the team, but part of her also just wanted to be able to spend more time with him, after her freak out when she thought he might have feelings for her cousin again and then everything being forced into perspective, she figured maybe she should find out if there was something there.

"Lots of meat, right?" he teased, grinning at her and moving to grab the phone.

"It's not pizza without pepperoni," she told him, "but I can be talked out of the other ones."

He winked at her. "It's all right. It's pizza. There are no rules with it."

"I think cheese and pepperoni are rules, but I guess that's just me," she told him, smiling as she watched him.

Oliver smiled back at her, picking up his phone and dialing the number.

Chloe watched him then looked around and walked over to the couch to sit down, she hadn't really spoken with him a lot since the last time she was there, not until her birthday, so she was more than a little relieved that he had welcomed her back into the team and apparently his life so easily.


	14. Chapter 14

It was just after midnight when Chloe found herself running through the streets of Metropolis, it was just two blocks from Isis to Clocktower and she didn't want to waste time trying to find parking and she didn't want to stay there on her own. This was horrible, and she was scared out of her mind, but more importantly, she had no idea how to deal with this. She needed help and the first person that came to mind, was Oliver.

Even as she watched as the numbers changed on the elevator display, she kept pressing down on the button for the top floor, as it that would make it go faster. She just hoped Oliver wasn't already out on patrol, she needed him to be there.

Oliver was just heading into his secret room to get changed for patrolling when he heard the elevator making its way to his floor. His eyebrows furrowed a little and he glanced over to the monitor, surprised to see Chloe standing inside. Worried, he moved toward it silently, waiting.

Chloe pushed the gate out of the way as soon as the elevator stopped and called for him, "Oliver!?" Even as her eyes fell on him.

Worried, he reached out and rested his hands on her shoulders, reading the fear on her face easily. "What is it?"

"It's Davis," she breathed, "all those missing people, it's him."

Oliver stared at her. "He told you that?" He shook his head, stepping closer to her.

"No," Chloe took a deep breath and shook her head, trying to calm herself down, "he said he was blacking out and waking up in strange places with chunks of his memory missing," she told him before taking another deep breath, "he said he was afraid to get checked out by a doctor so I gave him a camera so he could pin to his clothes and he just brought it back to me after almost a week and I was watching the footage and--" her stomach turned again as she remembered the images she had seen in the video.

His chest tightened at that. "Okay, breathe," he instructed, his mind racing. If Davis had been the one to kill all those people...

"I don't know what to do," she admitted, her eyes big as she stared up at him.

Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "We need to call the police, Chloe." His voice was quiet.

"I don't think the police can help us, Ollie," she sighed deeply, her expression completely void of hope, "I think Davis is the monster who kidnapped me."

He stilled at that, staring at her with wide eyes. " _What?_ "

"I couldn't _see_ him while he was killing those people, but the noises he was making, it sounded like _it_."

"Shit," he whispered, rubbing a hand over his face. "All right, let's sit down and try to figure this out."

Chloe took a deep breath and nodded a little, pursing her lips together but not moving.

Oliver reached out and slid his arm around her waist, guiding her over to the sofa. "Sit," he said gently.

She nodded again and sighed, letting him guide her then sitting down and rubbing her hands over her face.

He sat beside her, exhaling slowly. "If Davis is the monster that took you, he's going to be hard to stop."

"He's Kryptonian," Chloe whispered, closing her eyes as she rested her elbows over her legs and her face in her hands.

Oliver turned his head to stare at her with wide eyes. "How do you know that for sure?"

"Leftover Brainiac knowledge, I kept drawing the same symbol when he was in my body, Clark translated it as Doomsday and he said the fortress called Doomsday the ultimate destroyer," she said quietly, lifting her head finally to look at him, but this time her expression was blank.

And the news just kept on getting better. He rose to his feet and began to pace the length of the floor. "We need to call Clark."

Chloe's face fell at that and she pursed her lips together then looked away from Oliver once more.

"Look, I'm not happy about it either," he told her. "But Clark may be the only who actually _can_ stop him."

She rubbed her hands over her face and stood up too, "I should get back, see if I can find anything in the Isis computers that Brainiac might have left behind."

"No," he said immediately, shaking his head. "Not alone."

"I can't deal with Clark right now," she admitted quietly, looking up at him again. She knew Clark would be mad at her for being so close with Davis and not seeing the signs for this, signs that she had purposefully ignored.

"Then we'll wait to call him." Oliver wasn't about to let her out of sight given how obsessed Davis was with her and knowing now what they knew.

"I don't want to put you in danger, Oliver. He won't hurt _me_."

"You don't know that," he responded, shaking his head.

"I do know that," she said firmly, "he trusts me, for some reason and he has feelings for me, even if he finds me, he won't hurt me."

"He might have feelings for you, Chloe, but you don't know for sure that he won't hurt you," he said, shaking his head. "When he turns into a monster, how do you know he has any control over what he does?"

"I don't know, but even when he was the monster, he didn't hurt me at all and we both know what he did to you." And now that she was thinking about it, she was realizing that coming to Oliver might not have been the safest solution.

"And when he took you when he was a monster, you were still infected by Brainiac," he pointed out.

"You will be in much more danger than I will be regardless Ollie, I think even when he's the monster he still has some kind of control over himself." She told him and shook her head, "you go find Clark, I'll go back to Isis, I shouldn't have come here."

His eyes narrowed at that and he moved closer to her. "Look, we're in this together, like it or not. And I'm not throwing you to the dragon just because the guy hates me. We'll get Vic to hack Isis' computer system remotely, and you and I need to go somewhere else."

"If we run, he will find us, we don't know if he has all of Clark's abilities, but if he does, he will just be even angrier, Oliver." She told him, "we can't run."

"I'm not talking about running," he informed her, raising his eyebrows.

"What are you talking about?" She asked, watching him.

"Hiding," he answered honestly. "Until we know exactly what we're dealing with."

"It's the same thing, Ollie. He will get angry, he will know why I'm running, he will know something is wrong." She told him, looking up at him, "even if he doesn't come after us, he will kill other innocent people."

"And your solution is what? Use yourself as bait to draw him out?" His jaw tightened.

Chloe fell silent and looked up at him, pursing her lips together.

"No," he said, shaking his head.

"It's the safest thing we can do, Oliver. We can't just hide and let him hurt innocent people." She told him, her eyes wide as she took a step closer.

"You're just as innocent as anyone else," he said, his voice tense as he searched her eyes as she drew nearer.

"But I know what I'm getting into." She told him, holding his gaze.

"Do you?" He took another step toward her, shaking his head. "Do you really?"

"More than anyone else." She said simply, trying her best to sound confident.

"He's a _killer_ , Chloe." His tone was harsh as he stared at her.

"He trusts me, more than anyone else," she told him, holding his gaze, "I'm not letting anyone else get hurt."

"And what if _you_ get hurt instead?" His eyes darkened a little, his body tense.

"Like I said," she spoke quietly, "at least I know what I'm getting myself into."

"I don't accept that," he informed her. "We find another way."

Chloe paused and shook her head, "I'll bring Kryptonite with me, if he's Kryptonian, it will stop him."

"Fine. Then I'll come with you." He moved toward the elevator.

She bit down on her bottom lip and watched him for a moment, then shifted her purse that was still over her shoulder from when she walked in and then, without warning, ran over to him and hit him over the head as hard as she could with it.

He grunted, falling to the floor beneath the impact, and blacking out.

She caught him, kneeling on the floor instantly because of the weight and wincing as she helped him slide down to the floor slowly then taking a deep breath, "I'm so sorry," she whispered to him and hesitated before leaning down and pressing a kiss to his cheek, "but I need you to stay safe." She whispered before quickly getting up and rushing to the elevator, she had to find Davis.

* * *

Sporting a headache the size of Cleveland, Oliver made his way into the LuthorCorp. labs, thanks to a quick hack into Chloe's phone ala Victor. He was wearing the Kryptonite ring he'd taken from Lex's van, and he was carrying another green rock in his pocket, his jaw set. His heart was pounding heavily in his chest. Even from down the hall, he could hear them, could hear Chloe protesting _something_. He quickened his pace, rounding the corner.

"Davis, I can't," she told him, sniffing as she watched him inside the glass cage, "I can't do this."

"You have to Chloe, I'm _begging_ you," he told her, "I need you to do this for me."

"What's going on?" Oliver demanded, crossing the room quickly.

Chloe's eyes widened as she turned around to see Oliver, "Ollie, don't, it's okay." She told him, taking a deep breath, she shouldn't be surprised that he had found them so quickly.

"The hell it is." He shot her an angry look.

Davis' jaw clenched, "stay out of this!" He ordered from his cage.

She swallowed hard at the look on Oliver's face and looked away, guiltily.

"What's going on?" he asked again.

"Do it, Chloe!" Davis told her, his eyes turning red.

Oliver's eyes widened a little at the sight, and he shook his head, reaching for Chloe's arm. "Get out of here!"

She quickly pulled her arm from Oliver's and rushed back to the control panel and without blinking, pulled the lever down as fast as she could.

He stared wide-eyed as liquid kryptonite began to pour into the cage, soaking Davis with it. The other man twisted in agony, sinking to his knees.

Chloe watched with eyes just as wide, she gasped as she watched him, her eyes teary as she wrapped her arms tightly around herself and slowly stepped forward toward the glass, stilling as he looked up at her, "I'm so sorry," she whispered to him. When Davis came by to ask her to kill him, she wanted to find another way, a way to take the monster out of him, but when he looked like he could attack Ollie...

"It's okay," Davis whispered back, pressing his hand to the glass, shuddering. "It's okay."

Oliver swallowed hard, staring as the other man twisted and writhed on the ground, grimacing.

She stepped closer and pressed her hand over to the glass as she knelt down on the floor to be on the same level as he was, watching as he fell to his side, shaking and convulsing in pain through tear-filled eyes.

After a long moment, Davis grew still, his eyes drifting shut.

Chloe gasped quietly after a long moment and wrapped her arms around herself again, finally looking away from Davis and down at her lap.

"Chloe." Oliver moved to her side, kneeling down next to her and wrapping his arms around her, his chest tight.

She turned her head against his shoulder and cried quietly, slowly unwrapping her arms from around herself and wrapping her arms tightly around him.

He shifted slightly, pulling her into his lap and holding her as she cried, stroking her hair gently. "Let me get you out of here," he whispered.

"I'm sorry I hurt you," she whispered to him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck as she laid her head on his shoulder, grateful that it had been him who had seen her murder Davis instead of Clark.

"Shh," he murmured. "Come on." He picked her up carefully, pressing a kiss to her temple as he carried her toward the nearest exit.

She took a deep breath and hid her face against his neck, closing her eyes tightly, "what about his..."

"Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it," he whispered.

"Thank you," she whispered to him, her body shaking slightly with a sob.

"I've got you," he promised, carefully settling her into the passenger seat of his car.

Chloe reluctantly let go of him but nodded a little, lowering her head not to meet his gaze.

He leaned in and kissed her forehead gently, closing his eyes.

She sniffed quietly, closing her eyes again as she leaned closer to him.

Oliver lifted a hand to her cheek. "I'm going to take you back to the clock tower before I come back here, okay?" he whispered.

"Okay," she whispered quietly, leaning into his hand but keeping her eyes closed.

He reluctantly pulled away, carefully closing her door and heading around to the driver's seat, his mind spinning.

Davis Bloome was dead.

So why did he have a feeling that their real troubles had only just begun?


	15. Chapter 15

Oliver knocked lightly on the front door of Chloe's apartment, feeling uncertain and awkward, waiting for her to answer.

Chloe stilled when she heard the knock, her heart racing instantly and she looked around the apartment, making sure nothing was out of place then walked up to the door, holding her breath as she opened the door and blinking when she saw Oliver, "Oliver, hi."

"Hey," he said uncertainly, gazing at her. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, of course," she told him, trying for a smile as she stepped aside and pulled the door open for him.

Oliver stepped inside and slid his hands into his pockets, turning to look at her. "I uh--I hadn't heard from you in a few days."

"Yeah, sorry," she told him, taking a deep breath as she closed the door behind him, "I've been kinda busy."

"Oh," he murmured, looking down at the floor for a moment.

"Is everything okay?" She asked, cocking her head a little.

"Yeah. Yeah, everything's fine. I just...was a little worried about you." He lifted his gaze to look at her. "You know, after everything..."

Chloe's face softened at that and she nodded, "I appreciate it," she told him, "I'm okay."

"Are you sure?" he asked softly, taking a step toward her, searching her eyes.

"Yeah," she said quietly, looking up at him and watching him closely, doing her best to sound confident.

Oliver was quiet for a moment, watching her. "Okay," he murmured, stepping closer. "But if you need anything, I hope you know you can talk to me."

Her jaw tensed just slightly but she forced it to unclench almost instantly, "I know," she said sincerely, she wanted to warn him, but it would only make things worse, "thank you."

He hesitated a moment, then slid his arms around her, hugging her gently.

Chloe tensed once more then closed her eyes and breathed softly, wrapping her arms around him too. She couldn't help but wonder what he would do when he found out she was gone and, no doubt, eventually figured out why she had left. She couldn't blame him for hating her when he did, but the thought of him hating her hurt. A lot.

"All right, I uh...I guess I'll leave you alone then." His arms tightened around her for just a brief moment, then he released her slowly.

She swallowed hard as he pulled back and nodded, "I don't mind if you want to stay a little longer," she whispered to him. This was probably goodbye, anyway.

"Yeah?" He raised his eyebrows a little. "You want to...grab some lunch from downstairs maybe?"

"Yeah," she told him quietly, Davis knew not to leave the basement during business hours, "yeah, we can do that."

"Are you sure you're all right, Chloe?"

"I'm okay, Ollie," she lied quietly, looking up at him, "just have a lot on my mind," at least that part wasn't a lie.

He held his breath for a moment. "I know. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," she told him, looking down and reaching for his hand, "thank you for worrying, but I'm okay."

He looked down at their hands, sliding his fingers through hers gently and giving them a gentle squeeze. "All right."

Her heart skipped a beat and she squeezed his hand gently then tried for a smile, "let's go get some food."

* * *

Oliver sat in his office the next day, typing on the keyboard of his computer in deep concentration, starting when the door opened suddenly. Expecting to see Tess since she didn't tend to knock, he was a little caught off guard when instead he saw Clark. He raised his eyebrows at that, his expression neutral. "Clark."

Clark's jaw tightened as he walked further into the room, the door falling shut behind him, "how could you?"

"I'm afraid you're going to have to be more specific than that."

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you took a man's life," he said tightly, tensely as he approached Oliver's desk, "but how could you just stand by and watch Chloe do the same?"

Oliver's eyes narrowed at him, his jaw tensing. "You can get out now."

"Not until you explain to me exactly what is going on," Clark demanded, stepping forward.

He rose to his feet. "I don't actually have to explain anything to you, Clark. Last time I checked, I didn't work for you and you and I are no longer friends."

"Chloe won't tell me anything, she's acting weird and this is your fault, Oliver," Clark accused, his jaw tight, "Davis didn't die, I want the truth so I can find him."

He started to respond, then paused, staring at Clark. "What are you talking about? Davis is dead, Clark. I buried him myself. I still have the dirt underneath my fingernails to prove it."

"I checked the grave myself, his body is gone and it looks like something crawled from under it, he's alive." He told Oliver.

Oliver's eyes widened a little at that and he quickly moved to pick up the telephone.

"What are you doing?" Clark demanded.

"Calling Chloe to warn her," he responded, dialing her cell number.

"I've tried, she doesn't believe me that he's alive," Clark told Oliver then took a deep breath, "go find her, I'll go ask the fortress if there is an easier way to find Davis."

Nodding, Oliver grabbed his car keys from the top drawer of his desk and headed for the door wordlessly, worry in his eyes.

Clark sped out of the room the same second without another word.

* * *

Oliver made his way up the stairs at the Talon, knocking on the door. "Chloe? Chloe, open up, it's me. We have to talk!" His voice was filled with urgency.

No answer came from inside the apartment despite all the calling and knocking, but moments later, Davis appeared behind Oliver on top of the stairs, "she's not home."

He turned quickly, his eyes narrowing. "What have you done with her?" he demanded.

"Nothing," he said, stepping closer, his own eyes narrowing, "but I'm warning you now, Oliver, you don't want to stand in our way."

"Listen to me, Davis. You need help," he said, trying to keep his voice calm and even.

"I'm getting help!" he roared, "from _her_. Chloe cares about me."

"Chloe cares about _everyone_ ," Oliver responded, his jaw tense, his muscles preparing for a fight.

"And you will _not_ get in the way of her helping me _again_ ," Davis threatened, his eyes darker.

"I'm not going to let you hurt her," he informed Davis, shaking his head.

"I would _never_ hurt Chloe!" Davis told him, his voice shaking with anger, his breathing becoming ragged.

Oliver forced himself to take a deep breath. "All right. Good. Where is she?"

"She's not here," he told him, "leave and don't come back after her."

His jaw tightened and he headed for the stairs, his heart beating quickly in his chest. He needed to call Clark.

Davis watched him for a moment then, without warning, stepped forward and his his elbow against the back of Oliver's head hard.

The last thing that Oliver saw was the floor rushing up to meet his face.

Davis watched then popped his neck, taking a deep calming breath then grabbing Oliver by the arms and dragging him down the stairs without picking him up.

* * *

He awoke to the worst headache he ever remembered having and considering the numerous times he'd been hungover, that was saying something. His arms were pinned tightly behind his back and he winced as he opened his eyes slowly, dim light just barely lighting up the basement.

"C'mon, Chloe," Davis muttered, pacing as he held his phone up to his ear.

Oliver blinked a few times, watching him pace from the corner of his eye.

"Chloe," he breathed a moment later, "we have to leave. Now."

"Chloe, stay away from the Talon!" Oliver shouted loudly.

Davis turned around and his eyes narrowed and darkened instantly, "they know." He told Chloe. "No, I haven't killed anyone else yet. Hurry." He told her before hanging up.

Oliver struggled against the chains binding him to whatever the hell he was bound to. "You can't do this to her."

"She wants to be with me, and I won't let you get in the way of it. Again."

"Does she want to be with you, Davis? Or does she want to stop you from hurting people?" he asked, his jaw tightening. "Chloe has this bad habit of taking everyone else's problems on her own shoulders. You really want her to do that?"

"No!" Davis growled, walking closer to Oliver, "it was her choice, it was her idea."

"Yes, because she wants to _help_ you!" He struggled a little more with the chains. "If you cared about her, you wouldn't be selfish enough to expect her to give up her entire life to do that!"

"I can't control myself without her," he told Oliver, his body starting to shake, "I _need_ her."

"We can help you find another way to do that, Davis," he said calmly, despite how hard his heart was pounding.

"There _is_ no other way." He said, pausing after every word, "you don't want to piss me off anymore right now, Oliver."

"Look, man. I know what it's like to take another person's life," he told him, keeping his gaze steady.

" _You don't know anything_!" Davis said angrily, his voice becoming a growl again as he rushed over to Oliver, his eyes turning red.

Oliver held his breath, but didn't look away.

"The only way to calm myself when Chloe isn't around," he breathed, pressing his thumbs over Oliver's eyes firmly, "is to _kill_."

"Or is that what you tell yourself to make yourself feel better about murdering innocent people?" he asked tensely.

Davis growled loudly, pressing his hands over Oliver's head harder as he started to shake more.

"Davis!" Chloe called, her eyes wide, her heart beating painfully fast as she rushed down the stairs, "Davis, let go of him!"

Oliver drew in a shuddering breath as the pressure on his head suddenly stopped as the other man pulled away. "Chloe, _run_!"

Her jaw clenched as she took Davis' arm and pulled him further away, she wanted to ask Oliver if he was okay, but she didn't want to anger Davis, so she looked between the two of them.

He stared at her, his heart racing in his chest as he shook his head. "Chloe..."

"We need to go," Davis told her, his body still tense.

She avoided looking at Oliver, her chest tight as she nodded, "I'm ready," she whispered to Davis.

"Chloe, _no_ ," Oliver protested, jerking against his chains. "You can't do this!"

"Let's go," Davis responded, tugging her toward the stairs.

Chloe let Davis pull her toward the stairs, her eyes tearing up as she glanced at Oliver over her shoulder, "don't bother trying to find us, we don't want to be found," she forced the words out, her voice shaking slightly.

He shook his head at that. "Don't do this!"

She closed her eyes tightly as they made their way upstairs, trying her best to control herself and her emotions not to piss Davis off. It would have been better if Oliver had never found out about Davis being alive at all, but at least now he would be safe. She could make sure of it.

* * *

Oliver paced the length of the clock tower even as he swallowed down two more aspirin to try and get rid of his headache. "You don't give up until you find her," he ordered into the phone, shutting it off a moment later.

Another moment went by and his phone started ringing again, the words 'private number' flashing on the screen.

"Tell me you found something," he barked into the receiver as he placed it against his ear.

"Oliver," Chloe said quietly, "it's me."

He froze in place. "Chloe? Where are you? Are you all right?"

"I'm okay, I'm fine," she promised him, "I'm calling to ask you not to worry about me."

Oliver shook his head even though she obviously couldn't see him. "Impossible," he answered. "Tell me where you are, and we can find another way to deal with this."

"No, Oliver, I'm dealing with this on my own," she told him, "it's my choice. I have researched and there is no other way, I will stay with him, I will take care of this so that you and Clark can keep doing what you do. The world needs you." Even though her voice was calm, her eyes were tearing up.

"And I need _you_ ," he said just as urgently. "Chloe, I _love_ you!"

Chloe was silent for a long moment, her eyes wide as she pulled the phone away from her ear as a quiet sob broke through her, she wanted to say it back to him, but she couldn't. She couldn't make it harder or him, or make him want to find her even more, "you need to stay safe, Ollie," she whispered, sniffing, "you will be fine without me, all of you will. The team needs you, they need your guidance and the world needs your help. I'll be okay, just take care of yourself."

"Please don't hang up, Chloe. It doesn't have to be like this. Tell me where you are," he pleaded.

"This is what I have to do," she told him, taking a deep breath, "stay safe," she repeated and without waiting for an answer, ended the call.

"Dammit!" He hurled his phone across the room, rubbing his hands over his face.


	16. Chapter 16

  


Oliver was the one who caught Chloe after Bart supersped up to her and Davis, knocking them both unconscious. He lifted her into his arms, cradling her protectively against his chest. "Get him," he told Bart and Dinah, his voice distorted as he carried her.

"On it," Dinah said with a nod, moving to Davis' side and looking down at him intently. He didn't _look_ like he was capable of so much damage. Then again, neither did Clark, and she knew what kind of powers he had.

"Got it!" Bart called, tying Davis' arms and legs securely a split second later. "What now?" He asked.

"Let's get him to the plant," he answered. "And get this over with."

Chloe groaned quietly as she shifted in Oliver's arms, waking up slowly, her head pounding.

"Relax," he said quietly, pulling her closer to him, pressing a tender kiss to her forehead without thinking about it.

"Oliver?" She asked, blinking her eyes open wider as she lifted her head, instinctively holding on to his arms.

"I've got you," he told her, walking down the short road toward the nuclear plant.

"Where are we?" She asked, looking around, "where is he?"

"Relax, Chloe. I have a plan," he said, not looking at her.

At that, she squirmed, trying to get down, "what plan? He's dangerous, Oliver."

"And right now he's unconscious."

"He won't be for long, and he won't be in control without me, where is he?" She asked again, her mouth dry as she looked around.

Oliver set her down on her feet wordlessly and continued to walk. "This way."

Chloe looked up at him but walked as quickly as possible with him in the direction he was leading her.

"Are you all right?" He didn't glance at her.

"Yeah," she answered automatically without looking at him too.

He fell silent, nodding toward Bart and Dinah as they met up with them. Davis let unconscious on the ground. "Let's do this," he said evenly, glancing at Bart.

"What are you doing to him?" Chloe asked, looking between the three of them with wide eyes.

Bart nodded at Oliver then looked down, avoiding Chloe's eyes.

"We're going to bury him," Oliver responded without looking at her.

"Bury him?" Chloe echoed, shaking her head, "he will just crawl his way back out, Oliver and he will hurt you when he comes back!"

"Under a mountain of nuclear waste, Chloe," Dinah interrupted, glancing at her.

She blinked, her eyes widening as she looked from Oliver, to Dinah, "Oliver... half of him is still human."

"We were going to split them," Bart said, then stilled.

"Black Kryptonite," Dinah finished, glancing between them.

Chloe breathed and nodded at Dinah, then looked up at Oliver, "how can you be sure the nuclear waste will be strong enough to kill the monster?"

"We don't." Oliver turned to face her. "We're just hoping."

She held his gaze and pursed her lips together, nodding again as she searched his eyes.

Just then Davis groaned quietly from where he lay on the ground and Oliver tensed, nodding at Bart. "Get it," he ordered.

Bart reached for his backpack and pulled the rock out then nodded at Oliver.

Chloe hesitated before taking a step toward Davis, her eyes a little wide as he blinked his eyes open and they were already red, "Davis, it's okay, we have a way out," she told him, stepping closer, "we will free you from it."

"You can't. It's not going to work, Chloe." He struggled to his feet.

Oliver reached out and caught Chloe's arm, keeping her from going any closer, shaking his head. "Don't."

Chloe looked at Oliver and held his gaze, pursing her lips together and nodded slightly, silently asking him to trust her.

He held her gaze and swallowed hard, reluctantly letting go of her arm and dropping his gaze to Davis.

She let out her breath and stepped closer to Davis, "we can separate you from the beast, you can have a normal life," she told him quietly.

Oliver watched as Bart inched closer, holding onto the black Kryptonite. He tensed a little, ignoring every instinct that was screaming at him to grab Chloe away from the other man.

"How do you know it will work for sure?" he asked quietly, shaking his head.

"We have to try," she whispered to him, watching as Clark sped into the room out of the corner of her eye but keeping her focus on Davis.

As if sensing Clark's presence, Davis turned, his eyes immediately flashing red.

Oliver leaped, grabbing hold of Chloe and moving her out of the way as Bart sped forward and slammed the rock against Davis' chest.

Chloe gasped as Oliver pulled her back, holding on to his arm tightly and watching in horror as Davis shoved both Bart and Clark away with a single hand in each of them.

There was a brilliant explosion of light and Oliver dragged her farther away from the action, turning quickly and pulling out his bow.

She barely caught a glimpse of the monster before Clark vanished with him, leaving Bart and Davis unconscious on the ground. With a deep breath, she looked from them, to Dinah then up at Oliver.

Lowering his bow, Oliver drew in a breath, looking back at Chloe and swallowing hard. "Looks like it worked."

"I'm going to take him back to the van and drive him to Emil," Dinah said, picking up Bart and leaving without a second look at the other.

Chloe blew out a breath and nodded a little, taking a step forward and looking down at Davis, "it looks like it did."

Oliver watched her for a moment and then looked away. "You sure you're all right?"

"Yeah," she whispered, watching Davis' unconscious form for a moment longer before turning to look at Oliver again, "thank you."

He glanced at her. "You don't need to thank me, Chloe."

"I do," she told him quietly, taking a step in his direction, "for not giving up on me, even when I asked you to."

His chest tightened a little. "I'd never give up on you, Chloe," he said quietly.

Her eyes teared up a little as she stepped closer to him, her heart beating faster, "I didn't want to leave you."

Oliver shook his head a little. "I don't ever want you to put your life at risk like that again. Not for _me_."

"I can't promise you that," she whispered to him, searching his eyes.

He moved closer to her, letting his bow clatter to the ground. "Why not?"

Chloe swallowed hard and looked up at him, "because I love you too," she whispered, choking on the words slightly as she finally spoke them.

Oliver held his breath at that, reaching out and touching her cheek. "Oh," he whispered back, leaning in and kissing her softly on the mouth.

She relaxed a little as she kissed him back, closing her eyes and placing her hands over his arms as she stepped closer to him.

He brushed his nose against hers, shifting closer to her, as well. "I love you," he murmured.

She smiled softly, her chest tight once more as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed the corner of his mouth, "I lov--" she started then stilled, her eyes widening when she saw Davis coming toward Oliver, a knife in his hand, "Oliver, watch out!" She called, turning him and pushing away from him.

He went tumbling backwards from the force of her shove and winced as he hit the ground hard, looking up and seeing Davis wielding the knife. "Shit!"

Davis' jaw clenched but he didn't stop, holding his knife up as he walked up to where Oliver was, his eyes narrowed and dark,

Chloe looked around and looked between Oliver's bow and crossbow, picking up the latter and aiming as well as she could before shooting.

Oliver's eyes widened in shock as an arrow lodged itself through the other man's chest. He quickly sat up, his gaze darting over to Chloe, stunned to see her holding his crossbow.

She was breathing heavily as she watched Davis falling to the floor, her eyes wide and she didn't move for a moment then she dropped the crossbow to the floor and rushed over to Oliver, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he whispered, his eyes wide, too. "Are _you_ okay?"

Swallowing hard, she nodded a little and stared down at him.

He sat up a little more, glancing over to where Davis was laying on the pavement. His heart was beating quickly in his chest. They were going to have to get rid of the body. And quickly.

* * *

They made it back to the Clocktower a couple of hours later, Chloe had helped Oliver get rid of Davis' _body_ , his human, one hundred percent Doomsday-free body. She had killed a man, an innocent man for all she knew. She hadn't meant to kill him, just to stop him, she had been aiming to his arm, not his _chest_.

She hadn't said much since they'd left the plant, and they still hadn't heard from Clark, they had no idea if he had made it out alive or not, but she had her hand wrapped around Oliver's tightly since they'd left his car and even now as the elevator made it's way to the top floor.

Oliver guided her inside, realizing she was in shock. When the elevator stopped, he slid his arm around her waist and led her inside, gating the entrance once more. "We need to shower," he said quietly, leading her down the hallway.

Chloe pursed her lips together and nodded, then glanced up at him, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine, thanks to you," he said softly, glancing down at her.

She watched him for a moment then nodded slightly, wrapping her arm around him and hugging him a little.

He stopped walking and turned so he could hug her better, pressing a kiss to her temple. "I'm so sorry," he whispered.

Chloe wrapped her other arm around him and nodded slightly, "I didn't mean to... I just, I couldn't let him hurt you."

Oliver's arms tightened around her. "It's not your fault, Chloe. It was self-defense. Or...third person defense."

"I know," she whispered, hiding her face against his chest, "and you're okay."

He rested his chin atop her head, closing his eyes as he held her. "We both are."

She closed her eyes too and tightened her arms around him even more, nodding slightly but remaining silent for a moment, "he can't hurt anyone else."

He brought one hand up to rest lightly on the back of her head, gently stroking her hair.

Chloe relaxed slightly against his touch, she was exhausted, both from all the stress and because she barely slept the past few nights when she'd been with Davis. She had been too afraid he would take off and hurt someone while she was asleep.

"Come on," he whispered. "A nice hot shower, and clean clothes."

She took a deep breath and nodded, reluctantly lifting her head from his chest, "I don't have anything here."

He lifted a hand to her cheek, gazing at her intently. "You can wear something of mine," he said quietly.

"Okay," she whispered quietly, looking up at him.

Oliver kissed her forehead, then reached down and took her hand in his once more, guiding her to the master bathroom. "We'll have to destroy our clothes," he said softly, figuring she probably knew that already.

"I know," she said quietly, taking a deep breath. They had gone through this before after all.

He led her further into the room and pulled out a clean towel and wash cloth, as well as a terrycloth robe--green, of course. "Take your time."

Chloe took a deep breath and nodded, taking the items from him and watching him for a moment before stepping into the bathroom and closing the door behind herself.

Oliver shut his eyes, letting out a breath, then moving to his closet and opening it. He pulled out a fresh shirt and a moved to his dresser, pulling out a clean pair of boxers and sweatpants. Then he headed across the room to use the shower in the guest room.

She took her time in the shower, the hot water turning her skin red, but she hadn't had a decent shower in days. Once she felt clean enough, she stepped out and after drying herself, wrapped herself in his oversized robe. Her brain was blank, which she was grateful for. She was too tired, too overwhelmed to think.

A moment later, she stepped out of the bathroom and she'd been expecting to find Oliver outside, in the bedroom, but he was nowhere to be found, "Ollie?" She called, her voice not too loud, that'd take too much effort.

Oliver stepped out of the kitchen, appearing in the hallway a moment later. His own hair was damp from the shower. "Yeah?"

"Oh," she nodded a little when she saw his hair wet, "of course, you have other bathrooms," she told him quietly. 

He smiled faintly, cradling a warm mug in his hands. "I made tea," he said just as quietly.

Chloe took a deep breath and nodded a little, "that sounds nice."

He moved toward her, holding the mug out to her. "Feel any better?" he asked softly.

"Thank you," she told him as she took the mug, then nodded slightly, "cleaner. You?" 

"Same," he answered, reaching out and tucking some hair behind her ear.

She sipped on the hot tea but kept her eyes on him, "do you think Clark is okay?"

Oliver was quiet for a moment. "I hope so."

Nodding slightly, she sipped on the cup once more then held it out to him.

He smiled faintly, taking it and taking a sip, as well. "Can I do anything?" he whispered.

"You've done so much already," she told him, taking a step closer and lifting a hand to his bare side. 

He gazed at her intently. "Why don't we get some rest?" he suggested.

Chloe took a deep breath and nodded a little, "I just need to give Clark a call, see if he's okay." 

"All right," he said quietly, nodding and handing her back the cup of tea.

She took the mug from him and tried for a smile then leaned in and kissed his cheek softly, her head still spinning a little from everything that had happened in the past few hours. 

"You can use the phone in my room if you'd like," he murmured, searching her eyes.

Chloe pursed her lips together and nodded a little, "okay."

Oliver offered her a small smile, then headed back down the hall toward the kitchen, making his way inside and rubbing his hands over his face. So much had happened, he didn't even know how to begin processing it.

She sipped on the tea once more as she walked down the hallway, then she took a sit on the edge of and pick up the phone on the bedside table before dialing the number for Clark's cellphone. After the fourth ring, the call went to his voicemail. "This is Clark Kent. Leave a message and I'll get back to you."

Chloe swallowed hard and tried the number for the farm, but a few rings later, that went to voicemail too, "Clark, it's me, I'm at Oliver's, let me know you got back okay when you get this."

Oliver made his way back down the hall, carrying another mug of tea as he paused in the doorway to his bedroom, spotting her on the bed, phone already hung up. "No luck?" His voice was quiet.

She pursed her lips together and shook her head, looking up at Oliver a moment later.

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "Oh."

She rubbed her hands over her face and looked down at her lap for a moment then back at him, "do you think he's okay?"

He was quiet for a moment, and then he moved over to sit down beside her on the bed, gazing down at his mug. "I hope so."

Chloe nodded a little then picked up the phone again, trying Clark's cell once more.

He reached out and rested a hand on her back gently, watching her with worry.

She sighed softly when it went to voicemail again and place the phone back on its cradle, "maybe he went to the fortress," she reasoned quietly, "his phone doesn't work up there."

Oliver nodded a little, rubbing her back soothingly. "Why don't you lie down and get some rest?" he said softly. "I'll keep trying to call."

"I told him I was here," she told him quietly, "if he gets the voicemail he'll call here or come by."

He nodded once more, leaning over and kissing her temple. "All right."

"You need to get some rest too," Chloe told him quietly, leaning against his side.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" he asked softly. "Or would you be more comfortable if I stayed in the guest room?"

She bit down on her bottom lip and looked up at him, "would you mind staying with me?"

"No. Not at all." He kissed her forehead and then rose to his feet, moving to the other side of the bed, setting down his cup of tea and then pulling the covers back.

"Thank you," she said quietly, wrapping her arms around him once they were both under the covers.

He gently tugged her closer to him, winding his arm around her, and resting his chin on top of her head. "Rest," he whispered.

"Yeah," she whispered quietly, she had no idea if she was going to be able to sleep, but the fact that he was there with her was comforting enough to allow her to relax, at the very least.

Oliver rubbed her back gently, letting his eyes drift shut.

A very faint hint of a smile appeared on her lips when she felt him relaxing against her, "we should lay down," she whispered to him.

He shifted slightly so they were laying down and then pressed a kiss against her forehead.

Chloe adjusted the robe around her and laid down next to him, on her side, facing him as she rested her head between his arm and shoulder and wrapped an arm around him. Part of her was surprised about how comfortable this was, they hadn't even kissed before until a few hours ago, but it was like she fit there just... perfectly.

"Sleep," he murmured. "I'm right here."

"Safe," she whispered to him, closing her eyes. She knew Doomsday was on Earth to kill Clark, but as far as she knew, Davis' purpose was to get rid of Oliver and she had been just as worried about him when she ran away with Davis, it had been for both their safety.

Oliver's arm tightened around her just a little. And then he relaxed, drifting off to sleep in moments.


	17. Chapter 17

  


"Chloe?" Clark called loudly as he entered the Clocktower, looking around the empty and silent apartment for a moment. He could hear two heartbeats in it so he knew they were there. Close to each other. His eyes narrowed a little and he started down the hallway in the direction of the heartbeats, "Chloe!" He called again, louder this time and heard a change in the pace of the beats.

She had been able to fall asleep after all, and until she heard Clark's strong voice calling her name, she had been able to fall asleep quite peacefully against Oliver's chest, curled up against his side. But the second time Clark called her name, she sat up quickly, her eyes wide as she looked around the room, disoriented as she didn't recognized where she was right away.

Oliver groaned a little at the sound of Clark's voice. Because that was just what he wanted to hear first thing in the morning. Or ever, quite frankly. Rubbing his hands over his face, he sat up slowly, just as the door flew open.

"Chloe!" Clark gasped when he saw the two of them on the bed.

Chloe blinked a couple of times and made sure her robe was secure around her as she pushed herself from the bed, "Clark, you're okay." She said, relieved.

Oliver's jaw tightened a little, but he yawned involuntarily and stretched. "Clark." His voice was neutral.

Clark looked between the two of them, his posture tense.

"What happened?" Chloe asked, her eyes wide as she stepped over to the door where Clark stood, "is he gone?"

"Yes." Clark told her dryly.

"And you're fine," Oliver commented, rising to his feet slowly.

"I'm leaving." Clark told him, but kept his eyes on Chloe.

"Leaving? What do you mean leaving?" She frowned.

Oliver paused at that, raising his eyebrows, and remaining silent.

"Leaving," he repeated, "for my training at the fortress, to embrace my kryptonian heritage completely, Clark Kent must cease to exist."

He couldn't help but wonder if all Kryptonians were as dramatic as Clark. "Well, good luck, man."

Chloe glanced at Oliver then blinked at Clark, shaking her head, "what do you mean? Clark, you can't just leave. What about your mom? And Lois?"

"Human feelings are getting in the way of my decision making, I can't help people if my judgment is clouded by emotions," he told her, then his jaw clenched more, "and Lois is gone."

Oliver frowned at that. "What do you mean, she's gone?" he asked, glancing at Chloe with worried eyes.

"Doomsday escaped me, I followed him here, he got to the Planet building and after, I went looking for Lois, but she's nowhere to be found. I have looked everywhere." He told them, trying his best to keep his voice firm.

"And you're just going to leave without trying to find her harder?" Chloe gasped, suddenly terrified as she stared up at him.

Oliver moved to stand beside her, sliding his arm around her waist. "She can't have just vanished off the earth, Clark."

"I have looked _everywhere_ , Oliver." Clark said sharply, "I spent them past ten hours searching for her, while the two of you were here, sleeping apparently. She's gone and I'm leaving. I only came to say goodbye."

Chloe stared at him in disbelief and shook her head, "how can you just take off without knowing where she is?" She demanded.

"Because he's a selfish prick," Oliver responded, his jaw set. "Everything's all about Clark Kent."

"I don't expect you to understand." Clark said tensely, "any of you."

Even as Chloe opened her mouth to speak, there was a strong, familiar wind, and Clark was gone.

"We'll find her, Chloe," he said softly.

Chloe took a deep breath and nodded a little, her own jaw tight, "I need to get to Isis."

"All right. Let's go," he said, reaching out and taking her hand.

She looked up at him and wrapped her fingers around his hand then nodded a little, her eyes wide with fear now, they had to find Lois.

* * *

It had been almost forty-eight hours and they still couldn't find anything. Oliver had been out as Green Arrow for a long time and had just told her he was coming back to Isis now and she had driven around the city and looked into the Planet and asked around everywhere but there had been absolutely no sign of her cousin. The good news was that she hadn't been committed to any of the hospitals or morgues, her car was still parked at the Planet and even her purse was still on her desk, the bad news was that they had absolutely no leads or clues as to where she could possibly be. At this point, Chloe's only thought was that Lois had been kidnapped and she hoped she was somewhere safe and stayed that way until they found her.

He found Chloe at her desk at Isis, head in her hands. He held his breath, his chest already painfully tight at the realization that Lois was nowhere to be found. "Hey," he said quietly, exhausted from his own search for her cousin.

Chloe sat up when she heard him and turned her chair around, "hey," she said just as quietly.

Oliver met her eyes and shook his head very slightly. "I didn't find anything," he whispered.

"Neither did I," she told him as she pushed herself up, "you need to rest, though, you were out there for a long time."

"Only if you are too," he responded, holding his hands out toward her.

She considered that for a moment then glanced at the computers before taking his hand, "I just hacked into the Planet and I'm downloading all the footage from the security cameras for the past week, it will take a while."

"We'll come back in awhile," he said softly, nodding a little and gently tugging her close to him.

Chloe nodded slightly and stepped up to him, "you want to go back to your place?"

"It's closer," he said softly, nodding again and kissing her forehead.

"Yeah," she agreed quietly, "I have some clothes here, do you mind if I shower there?"

"Of course I don't mind." He lifted his hand to her cheek, cupping it gently in his palm. "I want you to make yourself at home there."

"Thank you," she told him quietly, watching him closely. Between Davis, Clark and Lois, they hadn't really had time to talk, let alone figure out what this whole thing was, and now they were both exhausted so it wasn't a good time for that, either, so she stepped closer to him and pressed a soft kiss to his lips before pulling back again, having Oliver there with her was the only comfort she had right now and she was grateful for him once more, "I'll go grab my things."

"All right." He nodded and let go of her hand, watching her head away a moment later.

She came back a couple minutes later carrying an overnight bag, it was around three in the morning so she was sure it wouldn't be a problem to get Ollie in her car with his uniform without being noticed, so she grabbed her keys too, "okay, I'm ready."

Nodding, he followed her out the door, locking up Isis behind them and moving to her car, crawling into the passenger side and yawning involuntarily.

Her face softened a little when he yawned and she pursed her lips together as she started the car, "thank you for helping me."

Oliver glanced over at her in the darkness, then rested his hand on her arm. "Always," he whispered.

Chloe watched him for a moment then took his hand in hers, "why?" She asked quietly.

"Because I love you," he said very softly.

She linked her fingers through his and took a deep breath as she focused on the road even though the streets were deserted, "thank you for telling me that, before."

He swallowed hard, nodding a little and looking out the windshield, giving her hand a light squeeze. It was something they had yet to talk about. Something that probably wouldn't happen soon.

Chloe glanced at him then took a deep breath and drove the rest of the way in silence, she pressed the code to the Clocktower's garage gate moments later and parked inside so he wouldn't have to worry about getting out of the car in his uniform, her hand still in his until she let go of it to shut off the engine and pull the key out.

Oliver turned slightly to face her, leaning over and kissing her on the mouth, his nose brushing against hers.

She stilled for a second then kissed him back, lifting a hand to cup his cheek, her chest getting tight as she shifted a little more toward him.

He felt her slight hesitation and ended the kiss a moment later, leaning his forehead against hers, closing his eyes. "Come on," he whispered, reaching for the door handle.

Chloe took a deep breath and nodded slightly then reached for her bag in the back seat before getting out of the car too.

Oliver led the way to the elevator, rubbing a hand over his face tiredly. "Want me to make some tea while you shower?" he offered, glancing at her.

"No, it's okay, you need to rest too," she told him quietly, "thank you."

He smiled faintly, nodding. "We'll rest, and we'll start again in a few hours," he said softly.

"Yeah," she agreed quietly, "hopefully we will have better luck tomorrow."

He rested a hand lightly at the small of her back as he pressed the button to his penthouse.

"Are you okay?" She asked quietly, looking up at him as they waited for the elevator to go up.

Oliver nodded, glancing down at her. "Yeah. Are you?" There was concern in his eyes.

Chloe pursed her lips together and nodded slightly, "yeah, just worried."

"I know," he whispered, pressing a kiss to her temple.

"I love you," she whispered to him as she closed her eyes, her chest clenching once more. She hadn't said the words to him again since that first night but she meant them, and that complicated the whole situation even more, but considering he was the only person she had right now, she couldn't not tell him.

His chest tightened, as well and he turned so he was facing her, pulling her into his arms. "We're gonna find her, Chloe," he whispered.

She kept her eyes closed and wrapped her arms around his arms as she pulled him to her, nodding, "thank you."

Oliver picked her up in his arms as the elevator stopped. "Come on," he murmured, carrying her out of it and heading past the living room to the hall.

Chloe held on to him tightly as he held her in his arms, turning her face and hiding it against his neck. She felt incredibly guilty about the whole Davis thing, less about murdering him and more about leaving with him, lying to Oliver and hurting him in the process, she was worried about Lois and she had no idea what to even make of Clark's attitude, she was exhausted and Oliver was... safe, warm, comforting. She didn't even want to think about the mess she would be right now if she didn't have him there with her.

He carried her into the master bathroom, setting her bag down on the floor and then carefully setting her down on the sink, meeting her eyes for a moment before kissing her forehead.

She kept her eyes closed for a moment longer then took a deep breath and opened them again, not letting go of him even as she looked around for an instant to see where she was before focusing her attention on him once more.

Oliver reached out and shut the door quietly, not breaking her gaze, either. He watched her for a moment. "Do you trust me?" he whispered.

Her stomach tightened slightly as he closed the door but she held his gaze and nodded slowly.

"I'm not gonna hurt you," he murmured, reaching out and cupping her cheek in his hand for a moment.

"I know," she whispered, covering his hand with her own. She knew he would never do anything to hurt her, but after being around Davis for so long and just _waiting_ for it to happen, she couldn't help but be a little jumpy.

He swallowed hard, reading the uncertainty in her eyes and forced himself to take a deep breath. "Chloe, when you were with Davis." He paused, not wanting to utter the words--not even wanting to _think_ them. "Did he uh..."

"No," she told him firmly, shaking her head as she held his gaze, "he didn't."

Oliver exhaled, relief washing over him. "Thank God," he whispered.

She nodded a little and lifted her free hand to touch his face, "I-- asked him to take it slow so he wouldn't think I wasn't interested and get angry," she admitted quietly, looking down then back at him, "and you found us soon enough, before anything got out of hand."

He leaned into her touch, searching her eyes for a moment and kissing her forehead once more. Then silently, he he began to undo the buttons on her blouse, keeping his eyes on hers the whole time.

Chloe held his gaze and leaned closer, she didn't know if it was the exhaustion that she felt or if Oliver was just that easy to get comfortable with, but she didn't have a problem with him undressing her at all.

After a few seconds, he carefully parted the material of her shirt and pushed it off her shoulders. "Just a nice hot shower," he said quietly.

She breathed out and nodded a little, shrugging her shirt off, she was glad for the clarification, she wasn't sure she was ready for anything else yet, not in the mental state she was in, but she still wanted him close so she kept her eyes on him for a second longer then reached for the zipper on his leather vest.

Oliver shrugged out of the vest when she unzipped it all the way, letting the leather pool on the floor. Catching her gaze, he offered her a small, tired smile as he rested his hands on her hips, helping her down off the bathroom sink and unzipping her jeans.

She returned the smile with one that was equally tired and slightly hesitant as she couldn't help her gaze from falling down his chest for a second, he was perfect, his body was as amazing as she'd imagined it would look and although right now, she wasn't really wanting to think about that, she was glad to know she would have an opportunity to explore it later.

He swallowed hard, shifting a little closer to her as he slid the jeans off her hips, holding his breath for a moment. "You're beautiful," he murmured. "Just so you know."

Chloe blinked, looking up at him a moment later, her face getting warm as she smiled again, a little more this time, "so are you," she whispered, placing her hands on his sides.

He met her eyes, smiling a bit, as well. "Come on," he murmured, taking her hand and leading her closer to the shower.

She walked with him, feeling a little self-conscious as she did, considering this was the first time he was seeing her like this, but she tried not to think about that, "you're staying, right?" She asked quietly.

He nodded slightly, moving behind her and hesitantly reaching out to undo her bra clasp. "You want me to?" he murmured.

"Yeah," she told him quietly, shrugging the bra off and slowly letting it drop to the floor, "if you are comfortable with that."

"I am," he said softly, pressing a soft kiss to her shoulder without really thinking about it.

She shivered slightly at that and closed her eyes for a second before glancing at him over her shoulder.

Oliver gave her a gentle, assuring smile. "Go ahead. I'm just gonna finish undressing," he murmured, reaching out and turning the hot water on for her.

Chloe nodded a little and stepped into the tub, pulling her underwear off and tossing it on top of her jeans before closing the curtain enough so that she wouldn't get water all over the bathroom then starting the shower. She sighed as the strong jet of hot water hit her a second later and didn't think twice before stepping right under it.

A moment later, he slipped into the shower behind her, exhaling tiredly.

She felt his presence rather than heard him and after pushing her hair away from her face, she turned around slowly to face him.

He met her eyes and hesitantly moved forward, wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin atop her head, letting the hot water pound down on them.

Chloe relaxed instantly and wrapped her arms tightly around him and closing her eyes.

Oliver rubbed her back gently, reaching out for the bar of soap. "Can I do anything for you?" he murmured.

"You being here with me is more than enough," she whispered.

He smiled faintly at that, lathering his hands with the soap and stroking them down her skin tenderly. "Okay," he whispered back, kissing her cheek.

She sighed deeply and before she noticed, she was relaxing against him, his body felt so comfortable against her. Warm, firm, but soft at the same time, just like he was. She had no idea how they'd gotten to this point, but she'd had feelings for him for a while now. He had become such a big part of her life and before Davis came back, she had been set on spending time with him to see where they could get, at least she had that answer.

He focused on washing her skin: her back, her arms. He noticed that she leaned into him more and a wave of protectiveness washed over him. Kissing the top of her head, he carefully turned her in his arms so she was facing the shower spray, then swallowed hard as he lathered his hands up once more, washing her neck, his hands skimming lightly over her breasts and then her stomach, not trying to be sexual about it despite the effect it was having on his own body. "This shampoo okay?" he asked quietly, holding up a bottle of the stuff he usually used.

Chloe had relaxed completely against his touch, her body was heavy and she'd kept her eyes closed even as he moved her, but his question pulled her back to reality and she blinked her eyes open, her vision blurry for a second as she tried to make sense of his words and then she nodded, "hm, yeah." She whispered, glancing at the bottle.

Oliver nodded a little, squeezing some of the shampoo into his hands and shifting a little, massaging it gently into her hair. "Is the water temperature okay?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah," she whispered quietly, letting her head fall back against his touch, "it's perfect."

He gazed at her for a moment, then went back to lathering her hair with the shampoo. "Yes, it is," he murmured.

Chloe smiled slightly at that but kept her eyes closed, "are you sore?" She asked after a moment of silence.

"Nothing I can't handle," he told her softly.

She shook her head slightly at that and opened her eyes, turning her head a little to look at him, "where?"

He couldn't resist dipping his head and kissing the tip of her nose. "Back," he admitted. "I think I'm getting old, Sidekick."

"Or you're just not used to patrolling for what, twenty hours in two days?" She pointed out, brushing her nose against his.

He rested his forehead against hers. "True," he murmured.

"And maybe I can help you with your back once you're laying down," she offered quietly, closing her eyes again.

"Are you secretly a masseuse?" he joked quietly.

"Not even close," she told him, opening her eyes once more to look at him, "but I can try."

He smiled faintly, kissing her mouth tenderly. "I won't protest."

Chloe kissed him back, lifting her hand to cup his cheek as she leaned her back against his chest, "I'm glad, I would hate to have to knock you unconscious again so I could try," she teased quietly against his lips.

He chuckled involuntarily, nipping gently at her lower lip as he wound his arms around her from behind.

She relaxed a little more and placed her free hand over his arm, brushing her fingers over his wrist gently.

Oliver nudged her temple lightly with his, letting his eyes shut as they held each other.

Neither of them moved for a long time, on her part, Chloe was incredibly content just to stand there with him. She felt like for the first time in a long time, she could just... be. She had a lot to worry about, sure, but they were doing all they could to find Lois and at that moment, she needed some time for herself, with him, to regroup after everything they had gone through in the past few months, with Lex kidnapping her and with the Braniac infection, with Davis and Doomsday and all that came with it. And she couldn't think of a person who would understand better how she felt and everything that had happened than Oliver. He had been there with her, for her every step of the way.

But her body felt heavy and although she was leaning on him for support, her knees started to bend under her and when her body jerked a little, it pulled her out once again from the trance being close to Oliver seemed to send her to, "we should get to bed," she whispered, but didn't pull away.

"Yeah," he whispered, reaching out and shutting the water off without letting her out of his arms. He pulled the curtain back and reached out, grabbing a towel off the rack and wrapping it around her. "Put your arms around my neck."

"You don't have to carry me," she told him quietly but wrapped her arms around his neck anyway, not really willing to lose contact with his body.

"I like carrying you," he murmured, picking her up in his arms and holding the towel around her. He stepped out of the shower, then headed out of the bathroom and toward the master bedroom. Pressing a kiss to her forehead, he laid her down on the large bed.

"Why?" She asked curiously as she lifted her hand to touch his face once more.

"I'm not sure," he admitted, gazing down at her. "I think it's because you just...fit right in my arms."

She face softened at that and she nodded, "I feel like I do too," she admitted, "lay down."

Oliver shifted slightly and then laid down beside her, curling his arm around her instantly. "Rest."

"No," she whispered, "your back," she told him quietly, leaning closer and brushing her nose against his, "lay on your stomach."

"Oh." He smiled faintly at that, kissing her shoulder and shifting so he was lying on his stomach, exhaling slowly and closing his eyes.

Chloe smiled softly and sat up, still wrapped in the towel, not that it mattered. She shifted until she was on her knees and leaned down, kissing his back softly before placing both hands on his shoulders and starting to rub it slowly.

Oliver drew in a breath and exhaled again as her hands smoothed over his sore muscles. "Thank you," he murmured, turning his head to one side.

"Tell me if I'm hurting you," she murmured quietly, pressing her palms and fingertips against his skin.

"No. It's good," he whispered, relaxing into the mattress.

She smiled a little and rubbed her hands down his back, then up again and over his arms, she knew he put a lot of pressure on them while jumping from building to building.

"Very talented hands," he mumbled against the pillow.

Chloe grinned softly, she could feel him relaxing under her touch, which was the whole point of this after all. He had done so much for her and she knew he had been going for days, probably looking for her nonstop before he finally found her and Davis, so she wanted to make sure he got a good, relaxed, restful night of sleep at the very least. She leaned down and kissed his cheek softly, "sleep," she whispered, still working his back.

Within moments, he'd drifted off to sleep, his breathing evening out.

She smiled when she could tell he had fallen asleep. Hesitating for a second, she pulled the towel from around herself and tossed it on the floor then pulled up the covers and laid down next to him, snuggling against his side as she wrapped her arm tightly around him and pressed a kiss to his shoulder before closing her own eyes and relaxing.


	18. Chapter 18

A week had passed.

A week of doing little besides eating, sleeping, and trying to locate the whereabouts of one Lois Lane. Oliver had gone out every night patrolling, trying to shake information out of every criminal he found on the streets. The long days were spent researching with Chloe for the same thing, and coming up empty handed hour after hour, day after day. The hope that Chloe had of finding her cousin was fading, and Oliver could see it in her eyes, which were growing more weary and hopeless each time one of the leads turned up another dead end.

Sighing softly as he sat across from her at Isis, he rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, hanging up from another call with Vic. "Nothing," he whispered.

She sighed deeply and rubbed her hands over her face then shook her head, "thank you," she whispered to him, "I don't know what else to do, Ollie."

"I know." He swallowed hard, watching her, and then reaching out and covering her hand with his. "We'll keep looking. As long as it takes."

Chloe looked down at their hands and nodded a little, taking a deep breath. She was tired, they both were. They had been sleeping less and less in the past days, the longer they couldn't find Lois, the colder her trail would get and the less chances they had to actually find her. They had even had J'onn fill out a missing pages report for them, in case they were missing something, but Chloe knew they weren't.

At that moment, Chloe's cell phone rang. Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly, reluctantly releasing her hand so she could answer the phone.

She raised her eyebrows and reached for it, "Metropolis General," she told Oliver when she saw the called ID. "Hello?" She said, tensing up instantly, "yes, this is she." Chloe was quiet for a moment as the person on the other side spoke then nodded, "yes, I'll be right there." She said quickly before hanging up.

"What is it?" Oliver asked, raising his eyebrows worriedly.

"Lois," she breathed, standing up, "she's at Met Gen."

"Want me to drive?" he asked, rising to his feet.

Chloe swallowed hard and nodded, grabbing her purse, her eyes wide, "let's go." She told him, not wanting to waste any time.

Less than fifteen minutes later, Oliver was following her down a corridor toward a room that one of the nurses had directed them to. His heart was beating quickly in his chest. He just hoped Lois was all right, because he honestly wasn't sure how much more Chloe could take after everything that had already happened.

She didn't pause between locating the room and pushing the door open, she walked right into the room and the second she saw her cousin half dressed and standing by her bed, she walked right up to her and wrapped her arms tightly around her.

"Chloe," she whispered, hugging her back instantly, her arms tightening around her little cousin.

"You're here," Chloe whispered back, closing her eyes for a moment then pulling back to look at her but refusing to let go of her, "are you okay?"

Lois nodded a little. "Yeah, I'm fine. I think I just hit my head or something." She smiled.

"What did the doctor say?" She asked, frowning a little at her cousin's answer.

"Mild concussion." She shrugged. "He didn't seem too worried. But I've got to get out of here because I have a phone date with the Blur in like an hour."

Chloe frowned even more at that but she shook her head, "no, I'm not letting you go anywhere."

Lois frowned at that. "What are you talking about?"

Oliver glanced between the cousins. "Lois, what day is it?" he asked carefully.

Chloe blinked and pulled back from Lois reluctantly, glancing at Ollie then back at her cousin.

She glanced over at him, raising her eyebrows like she thought he'd lost his mind. "May 15th," she said, shaking her head.

He paused, meeting Chloe's eyes for a moment and swallowing hard.

"Lo," Chloe took a deep breath as she looked from Ollie to Lois once more, "what is the last thing you remember before you got here?"

Lois' eyebrows furrowed and she looked between her cousin and Oliver. "Some ninja lady trying to kill me on a train," she responded with a shrug.

"Ninja lady?" Chloe echoed then frowned, shaking her head, "and before that?"

"Apparently it's my day to fight with people. I was kicking Tess Mercer's ass at the Planet before that."

"You've been missing for a week, Lo," Chloe told her finally, pursing her lips together.

Lois arched an eyebrow. "Oh come on."

Oliver frowned worriedly, glancing at Chloe.

"Okay," Chloe said, taking a deep breath, "let's get you home, what matters now is that you're safe and we'll... figure out the rest."

"I think the Blur saved my life--again." Lois looked at her, her eyes lit up. She didn't seem to be too bothered by the fact that she'd apparently been gone for a week with no memory of it. "The train was crashing." 

Chloe's jaw clenched at that and she looked at Oliver for a moment, "like I said, what matters now is that you're safe." She didn't want to tell Lois the Blur was gone, she was already going to have to explain to her why Clark was suddenly not working at the Planet anymore.

"Chloe, I feel fine," she told her, shaking her head a little. "Don't look so worried." She hugged her again quickly.

She sighed softly and hugged her back, pursing her lips and nodding, "I just don't want you vanishing again, we don't know what happened."

Lois sighed, as well. "All right. We'll head home and try to figure things out."

"Thank you," Chloe told her, looking from Lois to Oliver again.

Oliver nodded a little.

"I should probably check in at the Planet before we head to Smallville. See if I still have a job." She sighed.

"Okay," Chloe agreed, that gave her time to talk to Ollie, anyway, "we can do that."

"All right, I'll just finish getting dressed." She picked up her slacks and headed for the bathroom, disappearing inside and shutting the door behind her.

Chloe nodded then sighed deeply, rubbing her hands over her face before looking up at Ollie.

He moved over to her, wrapping his arms around her and pressing a kiss to her temple. "She's safe," he murmured. "We'll figure out the rest."

She wrapped her arms around him and nodded a little, closing her eyes, "yeah, that's what's important."

Oliver tightened his arms around her a little, leaning his head against hers. "Do you want me to come with you to Smallville? Or do you need some time with her to catch up?"

"You can come," she told him quietly, brushing her nose against his, "if you want to."

He dipped his head and kissed her softly. "All right."

"What should we tell her about..." she trailed off and raised her eyebrows a little. She had no doubt Lois would pick up on the changes in her interaction with Ollie, but they hadn't really figured out what this was yet.

"Oh." It was something that hadn't actually crossed his mind. "That's a good question." He rubbed his neck uncertainly.

"I guess we can just... figure it out as we go?" She suggested quietly.

"Right," he said softly, nodding a little. "Yeah." He gazed at her.

Nodding softly, she kissed him once more then pulled back, smiling a little at him.

Oliver relaxed when she kissed him again and he smiled back faintly, reluctantly letting her go as he heard the bathroom door open.

"All right, I'm ready." Lois glanced between them.

"Okay, lets get you to the Planet," she told her quietly, relaxing a little more too, at least Lois was back, safe, the rest they could deal with.


	19. Chapter 19

  


Oliver hung up as he heard a light knock on his office door. He'd asked Chloe to meet him at LuthorCorp that morning because he had something he wanted to show her. Technically it was more something that he wanted to _give_ her, but that was just semantics.

"Come on in," he said, knowing it would be her since he'd asked his secretary not to let anyone disturb him except for her.

"Hey," Chloe said as she opened the door and stepped inside, "everything okay?" She asked, raising her eyebrows a little as she closed the door. She had been at Isis when Oliver called her and asked her if she could stop by, which was a weird question to begin with since she never really went to see him at work, but also worried her since she expected something to be wrong, something of their night job kind otherwise he would have told her over the phone.

He smiled and rose to his feet, nodding. "Yeah, everything's fine. Sorry if I worried you." He moved over to her after picking up his suit jacket from the back of his chair. "Are you up for a small field trip?" he asked.

She cocked her head a little and raised her eyebrows, nodding but relaxing a little, "yeah, where are we going?"

"It's kind of a surprise," he admitted, offering her his arm once he shrugged into the jacket.

"A surprise?" She asked, smirking and taking his arm, "what kind of surprise?"

He smirked as well, raising an eyebrow at her. "You _do_ know the meaning of the word surprise, right?" His voice was light, teasing as he glanced at her sideways, guiding her out of his office and nodding at Marie as they moved past her.

Chloe smiled at his assistant then rolled her eyes at Ollie as he led her to the elevator, "well, usually surprises to me mean someone trying to surprise me and me knowing exactly what is coming, but I think I need some help with this one."

He chuckled. "Don't worry. It's not far from here," he promised, pushing the button for the ground floor.

She hugged his arm a little and shrugged, "I guess that's a good thing, would hate for you to be annoyed with me for trying to get hints out of you."

Oliver glanced down at her, a soft smile on his mouth. "You look beautiful," he told her, gaze sweeping over her.

"Oh?" Chloe said, looking down at herself, she wasn't wearing anything special, just regular work clothes, "thank you?"

He smiled a little more. "You always look beautiful to me," he admitted.

She smiled softly at that and tiptoed once they were in the elevator, kissing him softly. Lois had been back for a couple of days now and while they still hadn't managed to figure out where she'd been, Chloe had been feeling a lot more relaxed and she felt like now she was finally getting to enjoy her time with him.

Oliver kissed her back without hesitation, lifting a hand to her cheek and brushing his nose against hers. When the elevator stopped and the doors opened, he winked at her, and led her out of it, heading toward the lobby's exit, nodding at a few of his employees as they moved around.

Chloe smiled politely at the people as they walked out of the building without letting go of his arm, if it didn't bother him to let his employees see her with him, it didn't bother her.

Within a few moments, they were crossing the street, and then another and he led her up to the stairs of the tall building he'd wanted to show her. "What do you think?" he asked after a moment, looking up at it, and then over at her.

She arched an eyebrow and looked up at the building, "it's... tall?" She asked, "I think this is supposed to be the tallest building in the city or something."

Oliver nodded a little at that, a smile tugging at his lips. "I thought we could call it 'The Watchtower,'" he said carefully, watching her intently for her reaction.

"The Watchtower?" Chloe echoed, looking at him, "you bought this?"

He nodded once more. "Yeah. Plenty of space and...I don't know, I just kinda thought we could use a new official headquarters." He gazed at her.

She blinked a couple of times and looked from him back to the building, "I-- yeah, it's pretty much in the middle of the city."

"Want to take the not-so-official tour?" he asked quietly, holding up a set of keys.

"Definitely," she told him, her eyes bright as she grinned softly at him.

Oliver grinned at that, reaching down and taking her hand in his, leading her up the stairs to the large doors. "Okay, so obviously some stuff will need to be remodeled and updated, but overall, I think it's pretty cool." He unlocked the doors and opened one to let her in.

"Wow," Chloe said as she stepped inside, looking at the ample space, "this is amazing."

"It just felt right when I toured it," he admitted. "Like I said, lots of space for anything we might need it for."

She looked around the main floor for a second and nodded, the building looked mostly abandoned from the street which was probably a good thing.

"Yeah," he whispered, watching her intently. "What do you think? Think it'll be a good place to set up?"

Chloe nodded then turned around to face him, her eyes wide, "I think it's perfect."

A smile spread across his face. "Cool," he said softly, moving across the room to stand beside her, resting a hand on her back. "Whatever you'll need, it's not a problem. Computers, GPS, comm links..."

"Oh," she raised her eyebrows, "I thought we would just move the stuff I have at Isis?"

"Well, that's a start," he said with a slight nod, glancing at her sideways. "But I'm thinking bigger."

"Bigger?" She asked, looking up at him.

Oliver nodded again. "Metropolis is a big city. And if Clark's not out doing his blur-thing..." He shrugged. "We're going to need all the help we can get."

"I guess you're right," she agreed quietly, pursing her lips together.

"Come on," he said softly, reaching out and taking her hand once more, leading her toward the elevator.

"Where are we going now?" She asked, taking his hand and raising her eyebrows curiously.

"To the top floor." He smiled, giving her hand a light squeeze and leading her into the elevator.

"What's up there?" She asked curiously as they stepped inside the elevator.

"The view," he told her, lifting her hand to his mouth and kissing her palm lightly.

Chloe smiled softly and nodded at that, leaning closer and kissing his cheek, "I bet it's amazing."

"It is," he said softly, gazing at her.

She watched him for a moment and smiled a little more but didn't say anything this time.

Oliver smiled back at her, leading her off the elevator when it opened on the top floor. "Here we are."

She squeezed his hand and stepped out of the elevator with him, looking at the corridor and at the double doors, which were closed but the glass on them was beautiful.

He guided her down the hall and then toward the double doors, pushing them open and stepping aside so she could go in first.

Chloe stepped inside and her eyes widened when she saw the top floor, the huge windows, all the space, the balcony up the stairs, "wow..."

Oliver smiled more at the expression on her face. "You like it?" he asked softly.

"It's huge," she told him, blinking as she looked around and took a couple of steps forward, "this place is amazing."

"I was hoping you'd approve." He watched her, his eyes filled with warmth. "You can decorate it however you'd like. I've got a bunch of catalogs for furniture and design ideas, but the final call's yours."

"Mine?" She asked, confused, "why?"

"Well, you're Watchtower. And it's _the_ Watchtower. It just makes sense." He winked at her.

"But it's a place for the team, right?" She said quietly, raising her eyebrows at him.

"It is." He nodded. "But I figured you'll be spending the most time here overall, _and_ you probably have better decorating taste than Bart or AC." He smirked.

Chloe grinned softly at that and nodded, "point, and I'll accept the challenge as long as you're willing to help me."

"Absolutely," he agreed without hesitation, draping his arm around her shoulders and kissing her head lightly.

"This place is amazing, Ollie," she said sincerely, wrapping her arm around him and leaning against his side.

"Glad you like it," he whispered, wrapping his other arm around her, as well.

"What made you think of it?" Chloe asked as she turned in his arms to face him.

He considered that for a moment. "Well, it was the tallest building in the city," he said softly. "You can see everything from here. It was fitting for 'Watchtower.'" He shrugged a little.

Chloe smiled at that and nodded, leaning closer and brushing her nose against his, "well, as Watchtower, I can tell you it's amazing."

"Not as amazing as you," he murmured, kissing the corner of her mouth lightly, his arms tightening around her.

Her face softened and she pressed her lips to his for a second, "I love you," she murmured quietly.

"I love you, too," he whispered back, lifting a hand to her cheek and slowly deepening the kiss.

Chloe shifted closer to him and lifted one of her arms to wrap around his neck as she returned the kiss. She knew he hadn't said it with all the words but he had bought this place for her, for them.

His hand slid slowly up into her hair as his other arm pulled her closer to him.

She wrapped her other arm tightly against his back as they kissed, making a quiet noise in the back of her throat as her body was pressed flush against his.

Oliver groaned softly at the sound, nipping gently at her lower lip.

Chloe opened her mouth for him then pulled her lip away and kissed him once more, deeper this time. They had only really been seeing each other for a week and half at this point and the first week they had done nothing but search for her cousin, but in the last couple of days, whatever time they had had on their own seemed to be getting steamier.

He shifted closer to her, responding to the kiss without hesitation, sliding his other hand down to rest at the small of her back, his fingers skimming lightly along her bare skin there. She shivered slightly and pulled him closer to her, as close as possible, even if that didn't seem like enough.

He slowly broke the kiss, pressing his mouth against her jaw instead, closing his eyes. Chloe shivered once more as she cocked her head for him, sliding her fingers into his hair and keeping her eyes closed too. Oliver trailed kisses down to her neck, sliding his hand up the back of her shirt. "Chloe," he mumbled.

She took a deep breath and slid her other hand down his back, "I can't stop thinking about you."

"Me either," he whispered, kissing her neck softly once more.

Chloe smiled at that and took a deep breath, sliding her hand down his back and pulling him closer to her.

He lifted his head a little and moved to nibble on her earlobe. "We should talk soon," he murmured.

"Talk?" She breathed, shivering again. Talking was the last thing on her mind right now.

"Mm." He kissed her. "But not now."

"No," she agreed, pulling his shirt up as she pulled her head away to look at him, "not now."

Oliver's eyes darkened a little, shrugging out of his suit jacket and letting it drop to the floor.

The hint of a smirk appeared on her lips as she looked up at him, her eyes also darker, "no one else has the keys for this place, right?"

"Not a soul," he confirmed, meeting her eyes and smirking faintly, as well.

"Exactly what I wanted to hear," she told him, brushing her lips against his but keeping her eyes on his.

Oliver grinned at that and kissed her once more. Maybe things were finally going to start getting better.


End file.
